Returning The Favor
by PattiL61
Summary: STORY COMPLETE Chapter 23 is up! (4/19/03). PLEASE R&R. Hope you enjoyed it!
1. Chapter 1

Returning the Favor  
Chapter 1  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Bosco and Faith were coming out of roll call when Lieutenant Swersky told them to wait up. Faith looked over at Bosco and gave him a dirty look.  
  
Immediately taking the defensive, Bosco said to her, "I didn't do anything this time. I swear!"  
  
"Yeah, like I haven't heard that before," she said with exasperation in her voice.   
  
The two turned around and headed back to the Lieutenant who was giving some last minutes instructions to his Sergeant. "Yeah, Lieu. What's up?" Faith asked, waiting for the explosion.  
  
"You tell me, Boscorelli. The desk gave me this message that came in for you just before roll call," said the Lieutenant, handing Bosco a handwritten note. Bosco, with a puzzled look on his face, opened the folded piece of paper and read it.  
  
"Officer Boscorelli. I owe you. I'll catch up with you later." The note was signed, Littrell Griffith.   
  
"Who is this Griffith person and what does it have to do with my precinct?" asked the Lieutenant.  
  
"Nothing Lieu. I swear. I arrested this guy during the blackout. He ended up helping to save the life of that kid that got shot by the store owner - you know - the one that landed on the hood of my car..." Bosco was interrupted.  
  
"Oh, the one where you were driving along the SIDEWALK?" the Lieutenant reminded him.  
  
"Um, yes Sir. Anyway, I ended up, um, losing the evidence on him and had to kick him loose. So, I don't know what he would have against me now," Bosco finished explaining.  
  
"Well, it doesn't sound good, whatever it means, so keep your eyes and ears open, Boscorelli," ordered the Lieutenant.  
  
"Yes, Sir," replied Bosco and he and Faith made their way out to the patrol car.   
  
"Did anything else happen when you had this guy in custody?" Faith asked her partner as she saw him deep in thought.  
  
He shook his head no and said, "Nah. Nothing. I think what happened was enough for one lifetime. I still see that kid flying through the window and landing on the hood of my car," he said, remembering all the blood, as he walked around to the driver's side of the vehicle, prepared to drive.  
  
"Uh, I don't think so, Bosco. It's my turn to drive, remember?" Faith reminded him, dangling the keys from her fingers.  
  
"What?" Bosco said and then let out a big sigh. "Oh yeah, I forgot."  
  
"Yeah, well I won the bet fair and square so get your keester to the passenger's side for the shift," Faith teased him.  
  
"Yeah, yeah," he said, cracking a smile and moving around to his assigned seating for the day.  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
Doc and Carlos were finishing up the inventory on the ambulance before their shift and Carlos was talking about his latest female conquest. Doc stopped listening when Carlos started out with, "So, let me tell you how it went...."  
  
Kim and Alex walked through from the back of the station on their way to stow their stuff and check out their bus for the day.   
  
"Hey guys, how's it going?" Kim asked as the two women walked past.  
  
"Hey Kim, Alex. Wait up a minute," Doc said, jumping out of the back of rig and walking over to them.  
  
"Yeah, Doc. What's up?" Kim asked him as Carlos followed Doc over. He was afraid that he'd miss something if he didn't hear every piece of conversation going on at the house.  
  
"Look, we got a new guy starting today," Doc started, only to be interrupted by Carlos.  
  
"Yeah, well I'm not splitting up again," Carlos warned, afraid that Doc was going to pair him off with either Alex or Kim while he rode with the new guy. Carlos and the two women got along okay as long as they didn't have to ride together for an entire shift.  
  
"Yeah, well don't worry about it Carlos, because I don't want to work with you all day either," Alex said back to him.  
  
"Both of you relax!" Doc said, raising his voice above the two bickering paramedics.  
  
"I was going to tell you that I want him to ride along with the two of you today. Take it slow until you find out how he's gonna handle himself. Give him some room, but keep an eye on him too," Doc said. He'd decided over the last couple of months that Kim and Alex should get some experience in training other paramedics. Since 9/11 there'd been a large influx of interest in the police, fire and EMS services. They didn't know how long it'd last, but it was good to be able to bulk up their ranks again.  
  
"Oh. Okay," Alex said, relaxing a little. Kim rolled her eyes at Doc, who smiled and Carlos went back to work stocking the bus.  
  
"He should be here any minute," Doc said, turning back to finish his work. Alex and Kim continued on into the house to stow away their stuff.  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
It didn't take long for the shift to get busy. As soon as they called in service from the station, 55-David was sent on a domestic disturbance call.  
  
"Oh, this is gonna be a great day," Bosco said as he acknowledged the call and hit the lights and siren to start their day.   
  
"Yeah, gotta love these domestics," Faith commented as she accelerated away from the station.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC... 


	2. Chapter 2

Returning the Favor  
  
Chapter 2  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The new paramedic tentatively walked up to the firehouse located at King and Arthur. Before going inside, he'd paused to look across the street to the police station, remembering his time there. He looked around at the police officers coming and going to see if he could spot Officer Boscorelli, but he didn't. He continued inside and heard voices and laughter coming from the rear of the building.  
  
He straightened his uniform, slung his bag over his shoulder and walked toward the noise. He approached the doorway and smelled the fresh coffee brewing and the good-natured teasing that was going on at the expense of someone named Carlos. He stood in the doorway listening to the banter for a moment to try to get a sense of the people he would be working with.  
  
"Carlos, I swear! You are too easy to bust on," came the taunt from a dark-haired man with deep dimples on both sides of his face. He wore a FDNY sweatshirt over his work uniform.  
  
"Yeah, well don't feel that you have to take advantage of it so often," argued back the man at the table with the stethescope dangling from around his neck. The new medic assumed this was the man taking the brunt of the teasing.  
  
There were a bunch of other guys standing around and two women; one a blonde who was sitting on the counter in the corner sipping a cup of coffee and trying not to giggle. The other had longer brown hair and was high-fiving the dimpled firefighter as she walked over to the other female. She glanced at the doorway and saw him standing there.  
  
"Hey," she said with a smile and walked toward him. "You must be the new guy. Welcome to the 5-5. I'm Kim Zambrano," she said, extending her hand in greeting. He took her hand and shook it as she gently pulled him into the room while they were shaking hands.  
  
"Hey," replied the medic shyly. "I'm Littrell Griffith and I guess I'm supposed to be working here," he said, looking around and noticing the warmth that radiated from everyone in the room. He immediately sensed that this was a close group. He hoped that he'd be able to fit in with them. He wasn't too used to being friends with a lot of people at the same time.  
  
"Well, you couldn't have gotten assigned to a better house than this," said Jimmy Doherty as he stood up and introduced himself to Griffith. He continued around the room. "I'm Jimmy Doherty. The other firefighters are Joe Lombardo; D.K.; Billy Walsh; and Captain Anderson; The others here are the medics: Doc Parker; and you met Kim Zambrano. This person is kind of a hybrid - somedays she's a firefigter and somedays she's a medic; Alex Taylor," Jimmy said finishing up as each person introduced either nodded or waved at the new medic.  
  
"Hey! What am I, invisible?" asked Carlos, looking at Jimmy.  
  
"Oh, sorry. That's our house mascot, Carlos Nieto," Jimmy teased again. Carlos promptly threw a wadded-up napkin at Jimmy, who dodged it causing it to hit Doc.  
  
Doc stood up, trying not to laugh and attempting to come to Carlos' defense. He made sure that the napkin connected with Jimmy and walked over to shake Littrell's hand, "Actually, Carlos is one of our medics also. I'm the supervisor of the shift. You're going to be riding with Alex and Kim today. They'll show you where to store your gear and then give you a tour of the bus." Doc patted the man on the back and shook his head in sympathy. Carlos got up, shook his hand and as he stepped around him to follow Doc, Littrell heard him quietly say, "Finally, new meat."  
  
Kim and Alex heard the comment and looked at Littrell. "What does that mean?" asked the new medic.   
  
"Well, I'm sorry to say that it means that you're the new guy," Alex started to explain.  
  
"Yeah, and the new guy, or the probie as we call them, takes all the abuse," Kim finished.  
  
At the nervous look on Littrell's face, Jimmy stood up again, "Yeah, but I think you're probably safe, because Carlos is just too easy a target. But, don't get me wrong, you'll take your fare share also." Jimmy laughed and slapped the new medic on the back as the rest of the guys chuckled.  
  
"Great. I can hardly wait," Littrell replied, wondering what he'd gotten himself into.  
  
"C'mon. We'll show you around," Alex said as she and Kim walked out of the kitchen.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC... 


	3. Chapter 3

Returning the Favor  
  
Chapter 3  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Faith and Bosco had finished up settling their latest domestic disturbance call and were calling back into service.  
  
"So, what d'you think this Griffith guy wants?" Faith asked Bosco. He was looking out the window and reached into his pocket to take out the note and re-read it.  
  
He shook his head, "I have no idea. You'd think the guy'd be grateful after I gave him a break. You know, I never really lost the evidence, I got rid of it. I just thought back on how he helped with that kid and all and that he was on the list to get hired with FDNY. I don't know, call it a weak moment, but I just thought the guy needed a break," he finished up, again looking out his side window.  
  
"Yeah, well. It's good that you let him go. Surprising, but good. From what you told me, he seems like he could be an okay guy. I just wonder what he's looking for you for?" Faith said.  
  
"Yeah, well I was really tired and just got reamed out by my partner, so I didn't really want to deal with it," Bosco said, not looking at Faith.  
  
Faith immediately felt the guilty pang hit her again. "Bos, I told you I was sorry about that. I know that I was out of line and I tried to explain to you..." Bosco interrupted her.  
  
"I know Faith. I know. And I said it was okay, I understand," Bosco said, looking over at his partner, angry at himself for upsetting her again. She had a shine to her eyes, like she was going to cry.  
  
Faith remained silent for a moment and then added, "You know I've been seeing a doctor," she offered.  
  
"What? For what? Are you sick again?" Bosco asked her, afraid for her.  
  
"No, no. Nothing like that," she said, putting him at ease. "It's a therapist," she said, looking over to see his reaction. She caught him rolling his eyes.  
  
"It's helping," she said, defending herself.  
  
"Great. Helping with what?" he asked her.  
  
"Helping me to figure out why I've been so restless lately," she looked over at him to gauge his reaction. So far, so good, she thought. She'd been waiting for a moment to discuss this with him - to make things right - and he was the one that brought up her outburst that night at the hospital this time.  
  
"And, is he helping you?" he asked her, again looking out at the passing traffic.  
  
"Yeah, he is. I told him about what I said to you that night and we talked about it a lot," she said.  
  
"Let me guess. He told you to get the hell away from your crazy, good for nothing partner, right?" he said, trying to joke a little. This conversation was starting to get way too heavy for him, but he sensed that she needed to get it out. So, as much as he dreaded another trashing, he sat back and got ready for it.  
  
"No. Actually, he said - and after thinking long and hard about it, I agree with him - that the reason I went off on you was because you were there. I couldn't yell at Fred because he was - well, you know - dying. And you were there when all the stress from the hours being stuck in the elevator and not knowing whether we were gonna get him to the hospital alive, started to decrease," she explained, talking faster as she drove down the road. Her eyes started to tear up and she pulled off into a parking lot, so she didn't crash the RMP.  
  
Bosco looked over at her. He hated it when she started to cry. It ripped him apart when women cried. "Faith..." he started.  
  
"Let me finish this okay. I have to say this," she said to him. He nodded, looking through the windshield at a couple of kids fooling around on the corner.  
  
"Anyway, I was actually voicing all my feelings that I'd been having about Fred for a long time. I mean, how many times have I said to you that Fred was such a child. You know, like I had three kids at home and I had to carry the entire load. Well, Bosco, I just wanted you to know that it was him I was yelling at that night - not you. You're always there for me. Always. I can't remember a time when you weren't. And, you're not useless. You do good out here. Yeah, you're a little rough around the edges," she said, laughing a little and making him smile, "but you're a good person. A good person, Bosco, who'd do anything for anyone that deserved it. You get the job done - not always in the conventional way, but you get the end result" she finished.  
  
Bosco took a deep breath and looked over at his partner, feeling the tension of the last few months ease. He nodded his head. "Thanks, Faith."  
  
"And, I can't believe that you wouldn't arrest Proctor," Faith said, laughing out loud this time, knowing that she was not thinking clearly then. She had made it a point to stop by and talk to her when she was visiting Fred. They'd had a cup of coffee, talked and straightened everything out.  
  
"So, how are things with you and Fred now?" he asked her after he finished laughing at her last comment.  
  
"They're good. He's a changed person, Bos. He seems like he's grown up a lot. Things are a lot better," she told him.  
  
"Well, that's good then, right?" Bosco asked her as they were interrupted by their radio.  
  
"55-David, take an unknown disturbance inside the offices at 137 and Eastern - The Prescott Building."  
  
They each thought the same thing, "Not another disturbance." Bosco keyed his microphone, "10-4, Central. 137 and Eastern. Do you we have a better location within the building?"  
  
"Not at this time, 55-David. We're trying to get more on it. We're sending 55-Charlie along with you," came the response.  
  
"10-4. We'll be there in three," Bosco advised. He hit the lights and siren as Faith pulled back out into traffic. Each of them had a sense of peace since they had gotten this out in the open. They didn't know it would be short-lived.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC... 


	4. Chapter 4

Returning the Favor  
  
Chapter 4  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Alex and Taylor had shown Littrell around the station and got him situated with a locker upstairs. They were in the process of going through the bus and showing him where everything was. He had been able to follow so far, remembering where things were when they went back to review.  
  
"So, is everything in the same spot on all the buses?" he asked Taylor.  
  
"Pretty much. Every medic has their own little shortcuts, but for the most part everything is uniform. It makes it easier at an MCI (mass casualty incident) when you're grabbing stuff out of the closest bus," she explained to him. "Okay, so that's pretty much everything. How do you feel about jumping right into it today? That is if we ever get a call," Alex said, looking at her watch and realizing that it had been two hours since they started their shift and they hadn't turned a wheel.  
  
"Well, I guess that's up to you two," Littrell said. "I'm the new guy after all," he said, with a smile on his face. "However you want to work it, but I feel like I can jump right into it."  
  
"Well, alright," Kim said, closing the last cabinet just as the alarm in the station rang.  
  
"Adam-55-Boy, take a motor vehicle accident with injuries at King and 171st. Three patients at this time. P.D. is on the scene," came the dispatcher's voice over the loudspeaker.  
  
"Looks like I spoke too soon," Alex said as the two senior medics jumped out of the rig and moved to the front; Alex driving and Kim in the passenger seat. Littrell made himself comfortable in the seat in the back of the ambulance, his stomach tightening with the nervousness and excitement of his first run.  
  
"10-4, Central. We're in route from King and Arthur," Kim replied into the radio, turning on the lights and siren as Alex pulled out of the station. Kim hit the airhorn a couple of times at the kids that always wave as the trucks and ambulances pull out for a call.  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
Faith and Bosco pulled up to their latest disturbance call. "Central, show 55-David on scene at 137 and Eastern. Any more information?" Bosco said into his radio as they exited their vehicle and looked up at the building.  
  
"55-David. Getting more information now. You better wait for back-up. We're getting reports of a disgruntled former employee with weapons," advised the dispatcher.  
  
"Oh, just great," Faith said as the two officers entered the lobby of the building and found a security guard on the floor, bleeding from a gunshot wound to the chest.   
  
"55-David to Central, we have civilians down at this location. Start EMS, but have them stage until we secure the building," Faith said quietly into the microphone as Bosco bent down and felt for a pulse on the guard. He looked at Faith and shook his head, indicating that the man was already dead. The two officers moved toward the security desk located just past the guard and looked down at a single phone line ringing from the 3rd floor.  
  
Faith picked up the phone and answered, "Prescott Lobby," in case it was the gunman on the other line. She didn't want him to know that there were police on-scene yet.  
  
"Hello?" came a frightened female voice on the other end. "Please help us," said the woman, beginning to cry.  
  
"Ma'am, 'm with the NYPD and help is on the way. Do you know how many of them there are?" Faith asked the woman.  
  
Trying to control her sobbing, the woman replied, "Just one, I think. He used to work here he said. He's really angry and there's a lot of people hurt up here," the woman said, momentarily losing control of her emotions again.  
  
"Okay, just stay where you are as still as possible. We're coming to get you out. Just stay there and keep the phone line open with us. I'm gonna have someone here to talk and listen to you, but try not to talk anymore than you have to so you don't draw attention to yourself. Okay?" Faith said, as Bosco finished making a sweep of the lobby.   
  
"Uh huh," said the woman shakily. Faith could hear sirens approaching as Bosco returned to the desk area.   
  
"Central, lobby is clear. We have an open phone line to the 3rd floor with a woman reporting one gunman and multiple injuries. Advise the Command that this appears to be a former employee and have ESU respond also," Bosco advised as the Lieutenant came walking through the lobby.  
  
"What've we got? Run it for me," the Lieutenant said to his two officers as Ty and Sully followed him in.   
  
The Lieutenant called back to Sully, "Get EMS in here to get this guy." Sully poked his head back out the door.  
  
"Doc. We got one here in the lobby. It's secure," Sully told Doc. Doc and Carlos rolled their stretcher with the equipment into the door and hurried over to the man on the floor. After a quick assessment, Doc and Carlos found that the guard was already dead and they removed him from the area and went back to stage outside of the building.  
  
Bosco finished running it down for the Lieutenant as Faith tried to listen to the connection on the 3rd floor. She heard more gunshots through the line.  
  
"Lieu, this guy is still firing up there and we got people up there. We can't wait for ESU. We might be able to evacuate some people so this guy doesn't shoot them," Faith said to the Lieutenant.  
  
"Okay, you and Bosco and Davis and Sully. But, that's all. And keep in touch," said the Lieutenant as the four officers made there way to the stairwells.  
  
"Bring those elevators to the lobby," the Lieutenant ordered one of his men and then advised one of them to take over on the phone line.  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
55-Boy pulled up to the accident scene and went about the task of treating the wounded. Luckily there weren't any major injuries and as Alex and Kim watched their new medic treat a woman, they realized that he was pretty good. The two women looked at each other and then went back about their business.   
  
They took two patients in with them, with the third being transported by another bus.  
  
Kim was finishing up her report when Littrell came over to her with his. "Do you wanna take a look at this? You know, make sure I filled it out right?" he said.  
  
"Sure. Hang on just a minute while I finish this up," Kim said to him.  
  
"So, where are you from, Littrell," asked Alex as she was finishing up her report.  
  
"Right here. Born and raised," he replied with pride.   
  
"Yeah? What made you want to become a medic?" she asked him, as Kim listened in.  
  
"Well, I was a medic in the marines and I liked it. It felt good to help people. That was something I wasn't used to from being in a gang around here. That's why I joined the marines. I watched my brother get killed in a gang and decided I wasn't gonna do that to my mother again," he explained.  
  
"So, you went into the marines to get shot at. I'll bet she loved that," Kim said, chuckling.  
  
"Yeah, well she preferred it that way than on the streets of New York," he said back, smiling.  
  
"That's good. Good that you got yourself up out of that life," Alex said to him.  
  
"Yeah. It wasn't easy. I came back from the marines, took the test for the City and waited, trying to stay out of trouble until I got the call," he explained, thinking back to that pivotal night of the blackout.  
  
"That was hard? Staying out of trouble?" Alex asked him.  
  
"Well, let's just say I had an intervention just in time," he said. Kim finished her report and took his to read it over.   
  
"Sounds like an interesting story for dinner. Looks good to me," said Kim, referring to the report. "Good job, but we better get back in service. In case you haven't noticed, it looks like the ER is prepping for something big," she said pointing in the direction of the buzz of activity taking place in the ER. The three medics got up and headed back out to their rig when they saw a rig from another precinct pulling up.   
  
They greeted each other and introduced the new medic to the team. "You're moving kinda slow, whatta you got?" asked Alex, looking into the back of the rig.  
  
"The first fatality from that thing at the Prescott Building," answered one of the medics.  
  
"What thing at the Prescott Building?" Kim asked, realizing they were talking about their zone.  
  
"I'm not sure. Some guy that used to work there is shooting up the place. This guy was in the lobby," he replied.  
  
"Great! We better get back in service then," Kim said as the team got back in their bus.  
  
"Adam 55-Boy is clear from Mercy," Kim advised the dispatcher.  
  
"10-4, 55-Boy. Head over to 137 and Eastern, the Prescott Building, and stage until further advised."  
  
"10-4. In route," Kim replied as Alex pulled the bus into traffic.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC... 


	5. Chapter 5

Returning the Favor  
  
Chapter 5  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Sully and Davis reached the second floor and paused in the stairwell to listen for activity.  
  
"Bosco, we're in the landing of the second floor. Are you ready?" Sully said into the radio.  
  
"Yeah, we're ready," he said, looking over at his partner. "You go low and I'll go in high," he told her and she nodded confirmation that she understood.  
  
"Go," Sully said into the radio and both teams entered from their stairwells.   
  
They looked around and saw that everything was very still - almost like it was abandoned. Cautiously, Faith and Bosco took a step forward. Faith was crouched down low and Bosco was standing straight up, both with their weapons in front of them ready to fire if need be.  
  
Sully and Davis did the same. Davis taking the low position and Sully the high. They made eye contact with each other from across the room and Bosco motioned for Sully and Davis to head to the left and told Faith to head right. Bosco and Faith took a few more steps and then Faith stood upright and followed her partner. Davis did the same.  
  
Bosco heard something off to his right and immediately turned toward the noise, his weapon in front of him. Faith remained with her weapon trained on the area in front of them in case the suspect came out from behind a desk or something.  
  
A whimper followed Bosco's sudden movement and he was pointing his gun right at the source of the noise; it was a young woman, lying on the floor in a puddle of her own blood. Alongside her was a man that wasn't moving. She was reaching out for Bosco, either too afraid or unable to move. Bosco put a finger to his lips, telling the woman to remain quiet. He mouthed to her, "We'll have you out in a minute." She nodded and tried to remain as quiet as she could.  
  
Along their search routes, both teams came across many scenes like that. The two teams tried to calm the injured and continued their route, circling around the floor until they all met in the same location. There were numerous people injured and probably dead from the looks of their search.  
  
"55-David to Command," whispered Bosco into his radio. "We've completed the search of the second floor and it's clear. There're numerous gunshot victims up here. What's the status of ESU?"  
  
"Bosco, ESU is coming up the stairs now to your location. Can they bring EMS up with them?" came the response from the Lieutenant.  
  
"Affirmative. Have EMS come up with them. We're gonna head up to the third floor," Bosco replied.  
  
"Negative. Wait for ESU. They'll continue the search of the third floor," the Lieutenant ordered.  
  
"Dammit!" Bosco whispered in anger.   
  
"Bosco, just wait here like he said. They've got the better armor. We can stay here and help cover these people until EMS can get everyone out," Faith said to her partner, knowing that he wanted to keep looking for the suspect.   
  
Suddenly, they heard more shots ring out from above them. "Command, we still have shots being fired above us. Repeat, shots fired above us," Bosco advised.  
  
"10-4. ESU and EMS should be coming onto your floor now," the Lieutenant advised. As soon as he was done with that transmission, ESU came onto the floor, guns at the ready and EMS followed, staying close to the floor and began assessing and triaging the patients.  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
Kim, Alex and Littrell came upon the scene and waited for instruction. They were advised to remain outside of the building and treat patients as they came out, moving the most serious to waiting ambulances to be transported to the hospital.  
  
Finally, the flow of patients seemed to have slowed down and the medics were able to take a break. "Let's get set up for the next floor of patients," Kim suggested. As the three went about restocking supplies from some of the other ambulances, Alex said, "So, tell us the rest of your story, Littrell."  
  
"What?" asked Littrell.  
  
"You know, about the intervention just in time," Alex reminded him.  
  
"Oh, that," he smiled. "Well, it was during that Citywide blackout awhile ago. I was standing on the corner with a bunch of guys. We weren't doing anything wrong - at least not yet - but we were all getting pretty drunk just waiting for the power to come back on. Well, this cop comes over from nowhere and starts hassling us about drinking outside. 'Drinkin' on the public way,' was how he put it," Littrell said, laughing.  
  
Alex and Kim had finished restocking and were listening to his story.  
  
"Anyway, my mouth got the better of me and I said something I shouldn't have. The next thing I know, this cop, littler than me but with a big attitude, had me up against a fence and was going through my pockets. I had a small amount of weed - I didn't use it anymore - I don't know why I had it, but I just did," he said, being interrupted by Kim.  
  
"Little cop with a big attitude?" Kim said, looking over at Alex.  
  
"Gotta be Bosco," Alex said.  
  
"Maurice Boscorelli?" Littrell said. "That's the guy."  
  
"What did you say to him to set him off?" Kim asked, smiling.  
  
"I believe my exact words were 'step off, bitch,'" Littrell said, laughing.  
  
"Oh, man. You're lucky to have survived that. He can be a little intense at times," Alex said.  
  
"Yeah, well. He cuffed me and took me in. On the way to the station, he was driving on the sidewalk because the roads were gridlocked. All of a sudden this kid comes flying through a big window and lands on the front of the police car. There was blood everywhere. He got shot by some storeowner for shoplifting. It turned into a big racial incident and the crowd was getting pretty ugly. They had us surrounded. Anyway, I ended up helping to save this kid's life because of being a medic in the Marines. Later, at the hospital when we were getting cleaned up he asked me why I had the drugs, said I could be somebody. I mouthed off again and he cuffed me and brought me into the station," he finished.  
  
"So, if you were arrested for drugs, how did you get a job with the City?" Alex asked.  
  
"Well, after the blackout was over and he was doing all his paperwork for all the people he'd dragged in, he must have had a change of heart. Because he came over to the cell and called my name. There was a different look on his face than he had earlier - it was, I don't know - kind of a defeated look. Maybe it was just exhaustion. Anyway, he told the Desk Sergeant that he'd lost the evidence and was kicking me loose. Before he walked away from me he said that when I got on the job, if he called for a bus, he expected me to put him at the top of my list. A few months later, I got a call to start training. My instructor said that some cop had put in a good word for me and that's why I got the call," he said, finishing up.  
  
"Wow. I never would've thought Bosco had it in him to actually let someone go," Kim said, looking over at Alex.  
  
"Yeah, well, people surprise you everyday," Alex said, suddenly interrupted by excited transmissions over the numerous police radios around them.  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
Bosco, Ty, Sully and Faith were keeping an eye on things on the second floor while the medics finished up triaging and evacuating the patients. ESU had proceeded up to the third floor, but weren't having much luck finding the guy.  
  
"Maybe he's one of the guys that we evacuated out of here," Ty said. "You know, maybe he offed himself."  
  
"I don't think so. There was no gun found around here," Sully replied.  
  
Suddenly there was a sound from the stairwell across the room. All four officers looked in that direction, expecting to see ESU coming back down. At the same time, one of the ESU guys came over the radio, "Command, we have an officer down on the third floor. Suspect has his weapon. He's left the floor, repeat he has left the floor with an ESU weapon."  
  
They were shocked to see the deranged man, now armed with an ESU officer's high-powered weapon. "Hit the ground!" Bosco yelled out, firing a few rounds off at the man who was preparing to fire at the officers and remaining medics on the second floor. The man reached behind him and locked the stairwell door so that no officers could come from behind him.  
  
Bosco signaled over to Faith, Sully and Davis to start moving toward the other stairwell to get out when the man was finally upon him.  
  
"You don't understand! No one understands!" he screamed at no one in particular. Bosco tried to remain as quiet as possible so that the madman didn't know he was there. He didn't have a clear shot because he was behind some desks and he didn't want his shot to ricochet and hit one of the medics or his fellow officers.  
  
The man moved away from him a little further and he was able to key his radio. "Faith," he whispered into his radio. "I'm going to draw his attention. I want you guys to get the rest of the medics out of here when I do."  
  
"Bos, no," Faith started to say, looking over at Sully and Davis who also didn't want to leave Bosco in there by himself.  
  
"Faith, I don't have time to discuss this. I'm behind him and you're near the stairwell. Now, I'm going on three. 1 - 2 - 3," he responded into the radio as he stood up.  
  
"Hey!" he yelled, getting the man's attention. He swung around and took aim at Bosco as Faith, Sully and Davis moved the stranded medics to the stairwell. Bosco fired off a shot, hitting the suspect in the arm, but he didn't drop the weapon. Instead he ran over to the door that the officers just exited and locked it and ducked behind a desk.  
  
Bosco heard Faith over his radio, "55-David to Command. We have evacuated the second floor, but my partner is trapped on the second floor with the suspect. Advise ESU that the stairwell doors have been locked from the inside. Repeat, my partner is trapped on the second floor with the suspect and shots have been fired."  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC... 


	6. Chapter 6

Returning the Favor  
  
Chapter 6  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Where are you?!" yelled the distraught young man. Bosco remained on the floor where he landed when the man started firing. At least he knew that Faith and the others were safe. Now, it was up to him to get himself out of this. He reached to his side and turned down his radio, fearful that the traffic on the radio would alert the man to his location.  
  
He was able to peek around the corner of the desk and saw that the man was about 25 feet away from him, turning in a circle to try to find out where Bosco was.  
  
"You better come out, or I'll start shooting this place up some more!" he warned.  
  
"Well, I'd be pretty stupid if I came out now, wouldn't I?" Bosco said. "What's your name?" he asked, stalling for time.  
  
The man turned in the direction of the sound of Bosco's voice. "Larry," he answered.  
  
"Okay, Larry. I'm Boscorelli, but people call me Bosco for short," he said. "What is it that you don't think we understand, Larry?"  
  
"Corporations like this. They don't try to help the individual employee. It's all about what's best for the company overall. I worked my ass off for this company for 15 years and they just let me go - just like that!" he said, helplessness in his voice.  
  
"Okay. I can understand that that's frustrating, Larry. I do. I've been in situations like that before," he said, trying to gain the man's confidence. "But, why take it out on all the other poor schmucks working here? That's the part I need for you to explain to me, Larry. Can you do that?" Bosco asked him, again peeking around the corner of the desk and seeing that the man was slowly making his way toward Bosco's voice.  
  
He quietly shimmied along the floor further away from the man, trying to think up a plan to end this peacefully. No one else - particularly him - needed to get hurt.  
  
"Because they were all in on it! Don't you see? It was a conspiracy. It was sabotage of my career! I was loyal to this company, these people, for 15 years and what did I get for it? Huh? I got 'let go,'" he sneered.  
  
"Well, Larry. I certainly understand how you're feeling," said Bosco realizing that with the conspiracy theory thing working, the man was clearly out of his mind. "But, you know I can't just let you go around shooting innocent people, right Larry?"  
  
"Oh, you act like I'm gonna be able to just walk out of here if I give up. I'm not stupid. I watch television," he said to Bosco, moving toward the sound of his voice more quickly. Bosco looked around the partition he had crawled behind and saw the man gaining on him.  
  
"Yeah, well, Larry, television is overrated, I've found," Bosco said, looking around for another place to go.  
  
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door to the stairwell. "Finally, a hostage negotiator," thought Bosco as he listened to the officer on the other side of the door try to talk to Larry.  
  
"I'm not talking to anyone but Bosco!" Larry yelled across the room.  
  
"Perfect," Bosco thought to himself. "Larry, they can get you more than I can. I mean, I'm in here with you. What can I do?" Bosco said, trying to convince the man to talk to the negotiator.  
  
"I don't care. Neither one of us is leaving here alive," Larry warned him.  
  
"This is getting better and better, Boscorelli," he said to himself. He heard Faith's voice coming over his radio faintly. He turned it up slightly and heard Faith.  
  
"Bosco, are you okay up there? Are you hit?" she asked him.  
  
He whispered back to her, "No. I'm okay for now. But, this guy's out there. There's no way he's gonna go quietly," he advised her.  
  
"What part of the room are you in, ESU is getting ready to break in, so stay as low as you can and cover your ears," she warned him.  
  
"10-4 that. I'm in the southeast corner of the room," he said, as he looked up and saw Larry standing over him with the weapon in his hand. He left his hand on the key to the microphone so it would be broadcast over the radio, allowing ESU to know that the man was right near him.  
  
"Get up," Larry ordered him.  
  
"I don't think so, Larry," Bosco said to him, knowing that ESU was coming through the door any minute. "Because ESU is coming through one of these doors any second according to my partner," he said, indicating the radio clipped to his shoulder. "Now, you should either give up or get the hell out of the way, 'cause ESU only knows how to come in shooting," he warned the man.  
  
Larry took a moment to look around the room for a place to hide. He started to walk away toward a hiding spot. "Go now!" Bosco yelled into his radio, diving for the floor. The next second there was a loud crashing noise. A concussion grenade was thrown into the room and he covered his ears and head.  
  
The man raised his gun in Bosco's direction and ESU fired. Larry fell to the ground with his finger on the trigger, spraying bullets around the room.  
  
Everything seemed to be in slow motion as Bosco felt the first first of two bullets rip into him.  
  
The radio was full of the sound of Bosco's voice, "10-13, Officer down. Repeat Officer down," followed by no further transmission.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC... 


	7. Chapter 7

Returning the Favor  
  
Chapter 7  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Bosco lay on the floor listening as ESU finished coming into the room. They secured the weapons that the man had, including the high-powered ESU weapon that had injured Bosco. He had fallen onto his side and was able to see the face of his shooter. He saw one of the officers reach down to the man and feel for a pulse. Apparently, he didn't find one, because Bosco heard him say, "Suspect is deceased. Have EMS respond to the third floor forthwith."  
  
He couldn't understand why no one was coming over to him. "Maybe I'm dead," he thought to himself. He dismissed that notion, thinking that if he was dead, he wouldn't be able to feel the burning pain in his side where the bullet went in under his arm. Suddenly, he heard someone in his ear.  
  
"We've got you Bos. Hold on. EMS is on the way. We've got you," came the voice of one of the officers. He couldn't quite place the voice, but he knew that he knew the man. Suddenly, there was another voice alongside him. This one he knew. It was his partner.  
  
"Bosco! I'm right here. I'm right here, Bos," Faith said into his ear. He felt her hand on his shoulder. He had the sensation of someone moving his leg, but he couldn't feel it. As a matter of fact, he couldn't feel anything below where the bullet entered his side. "Oh, God," he thought to himself. "This is pretty bad." He tried to keep himself calm, knowing that if he let himself get too excited, his heart rate would increase, causing his blood to pump out faster. At least he heard that somewhere. He wasn't sure if it was true or not, but it sounded logical to him.  
  
Again, he heard Faith's voice. "Bos. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left you here. I should have stayed. I'm sorry," she said, trying to keep the emotion out of her voice.  
  
"Faith, it's not your fault. It just happened. You had to get those medics and wounded civilians out of here. Are they out? Did everyone get out?" he asked suddenly.  
  
"Yeah, Bos. Everyone's out. Now we're gonna get you out of here and over to Mercy. So, you just hang on. I'm with you the whole way, Bos," she answered him.  
  
"Where the hell is EMS?" Faith said, loudly to the other officers.   
  
"They're right here," one of them said as Bosco's vision dimmed and blurred. He felt himself losing consciousness.  
  
"Stay with me, Bos. You have to fight to stay awake," Faith urged him. "You'll have plenty of time to rest later."  
  
"It hurts Faith. It burns really bad," he said to her quietly. Suddenly he felt someone other than Faith by his side.  
  
He felt a collar being applied to his neck - standard procedure for a gunshot victim due to the violent jarring experienced by the body when struck with a bullet. This was a precaution in the event that there was a spinal injury from the jarring, or from when he fell to the ground. He felt himself being turned and was now looking up at the ceiling. At least he thought he was. It was hard to tell, everything was coming in and out of focus. Suddenly, he heard Kim and Alex. They were talking to him. "What were they saying?" he asked to himself, trying to focus on their words. He saw Alex's blonde hair and then Kim's dark hair.  
  
Then he blinked a few times when he thought he saw Doc. "Oh man, three medics. I must be in big trouble," he said.   
  
"So, Doc. How bad is it? I can't feel my legs you know," he said to the third medic.  
  
"I'm not a doctor yet. But thanks to you I might just get there," Littrell told him, starting an IV in one arm, while Kim started another in the other.  
  
"That's not Doc's voice?" he said to himself. "He sounds different. Maybe it's just my imagination."  
  
"Doc! I can't feel my legs," he said again, getting nervous now, thinking that he was talking and they weren't hearing him.  
  
"I told you to take it easy Little Man," said Littrell. "We've got you and I did what you said. You called for a bus and I put you at the top of my list," he said to Bosco, seeing the recognition come across Bosco's face.  
  
Bosco smiled. He squinted a little to help his eyes to focus. "That's the first rule. Always keep your promises," Bosco said to him. "So that's what you meant by 'I owe you' in that message you left."  
  
"You know it. I always keep my promises. Now shut up so we can take care of you, Little Man," Littrell said.  
  
"Don't call me that," Bosco said, as his vision blurred and everything grew dark.  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
"How bad is it?" Faith asked as they were moving him to the ambulance. The ESU officers were moving everyone back so they had a clear run to the bus and they loaded him quickly and pulled away to head toward Mercy - Faith riding in the back and Alex driving.  
  
"I don't know exactly what damage is on the inside. I know he said he couldn't move his legs and he wasn't responding to any stimulus below his chest. But, that could be just temporary. There was no exit wound from the chest wound, so it could be that the bullet is just pressing on the cord or shocked the cord," Kim explained to her. She noticed that Faith hadn't let go of Bosco's hand the entire time.  
  
Littrell noticed the level of concern in all the officers and personnel at the scene. "These people are a unit," he said to himself, again hoping that he'd be able to fit in someday.  
  
"His leg wound is through-and-through with minimal bleeding," Littrell advised Faith. "That shouldn't be the problem."  
  
"We'll know more when they get him to x-ray," Kim said, trying to assure Faith.  
  
Alex was driving the bus and was on the radio to Mercy. "Mercy, be advised, 55-Boy is coming in 'hot' with a police officer with gunshot wounds to the upper right chest and left thigh. What trauma room do you want us to bring him to?"  
  
"55-Boy, we received your transmission. We're setting up for you in Trauma 1. Do you have any more information," came the response from Mercy.  
  
"You'll have it in about 30 seconds. We're at your back door," Alex replied, pulling into the ER entrance and jumping out to open the back door to unload Bosco. They off-loaded him from the ambulance and Faith tried to keep up, holding onto his hand, as more and more emergency room personnel swarmed around him. She felt someone pulling her hand away and resisted.  
  
Finally, she realized that it was Littrell pulling her hand. "It's okay, Faith. Let them work. We'll stand right here," he said calmly.  
*^*^*^*^*^*^  
Kim and Alex looked at one another as they moved their stretcher out of the trauma room to give them room to work.  
  
"Well?" asked Alex, waiting for Kim to give her assessment of Littrell's skills.  
  
"Oh, he's definitely a keeper," Kim replied. "Definitely."  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC... 


	8. Chapter 8

Returning the Favor  
  
Chapter 8  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Everyone had gathered in the waiting room. They were all waiting to hear news about how Bosco was. Faith hadn't moved from the window to the trauma room. She wanted him in her sight at every moment. Littrell stood beside her.  
  
"He just told me about you today, you know," Faith said quietly to Littrell.  
  
"Oh yeah? I'm sure it was glowing," he said sarcastically, looking at her from the corner of his eye.  
  
She smirked. "Actually, it wasn't bad. He hoped he'd done right by you. He saw something in you - he didn't know - something worth saving, I guess," she said. "I guess you showed him today that he was right," Faith said, for the first time looking away from her partner to the man next to her. She wasn't sure, but she thought she saw an additional pride instilled in him; the knowledge that he was doing something good with his life.  
  
"Well, I'm glad that I could be there when he needed me," Littrell replied slowly and quietly. "He grabbed me up at a pivotal time in my life. I was just back from the service. I was trying to resist be pulled back into the bad, but it was hard not going back to my old ways - ways I lived before I was in the marines," he said. "He gave me another chance and when the door to that cell opened up, he said 'good luck' and shook my hand before he stepped aside," he said, looking over at Faith and then back to Bosco who remained unconscious on the hospital bed.   
  
"I never looked back after that. I took some refresher courses and worked in this very emergency room to keep my skills sharp. I owe where I am today to Bosco. My instructor during my FDNY training told me that he had heard good things from someone about me. When I asked him who it was he wouldn't tell me. All he would say was that it was someone from the NYPD. He told me that for that person to stand up for me I must be something special," Littrell explained with a smile on his face. "I vowed not to let that person down," he finished as one of the doctors stepped away from Bosco and turned to come into the waiting room.  
  
Faith tensed as the doctor walked out of the trauma room toward the group waiting in the hallway. "Officer Yokas?" he called out.  
  
"Right here, Doctor," Faith said, stepping forward. Everyone stood up to listen to the doctor.  
  
"Well, Officer. He's is in serious condition. We have him stabilized right now. The portable x-rays we did here in the ER weren't conclusive. We're getting him ready to go for a CT Scan and we've called a neurologist who should be here shortly," the doctor said, absently glancing at his watch out of reflex. "He'll need surgery to clean up the leg wound, but it appears that no major arteries or bony structures were hit. We won't know until the CT Scan is done and the neurosurgeon looks him over..." he said, suddenly interrupted by Faith.  
  
"Officer Boscorelli. My partner. Not 'him,'" she said to the doctor. The doctor looked surprised for a moment, then remembered that he was dealing with a police officer. Police officers and firefighters were a different breed. They commanded, and deserved, respect.  
  
"I'm sorry. Officer Boscorelli. When the neurosurgeon is finished with Officer Boscorelli's examination and looking over the CT Scan, we'll be better able to assess what your partner will require in the way of surgery or just time to heal on his own," the doctor finished.  
  
"Thank you, Doctor. Has my partner regained consciousness? Can I see him?" she asked him.   
  
He shook his head. "No, I'm afraid he's still unconscious. But, you can come in for a few moments until they're ready to move Officer Boscorelli to the CT Scan. After that, maybe you'll want to get cleaned up a bit," he said, looking at the blood on her hands, uniform and cheek where she must have absently wiped at her face with her hands.  
  
Faith looked at herself, nodded, and looked at her fellow officers and friends from the fire department. She glanced over at Littrell who nodded for her to go ahead. She followed the doctor into the trauma room.  
  
A couple of nurses moved away so that Faith could get closer to the bed. She looked him over and saw how peaceful he looked. She put a hand on his shoulder and gently tightened her grip. "Bos? Can you hear me?" she asked quietly. "It's me, Faith. Look, the doctors are taking really good care of you and you're gonna be just fine. Just keep fighting, okay?" she said. She reached with her other hand and held onto his. She felt the slightest tightening in his grip and looked at his face to see his eyes slightly open. She moved closer to him.  
  
"Bosco? Can you hear me?" she said. He tried to nod his head, but couldn't because of the cervical collar that remained on him. "Faith," he said barely audible. "Tell Littrell he was right. Tell him I said he IS something," he finished, remembering his words the night he re-cuffed him in the ER after they cleaned up from the shotgun patient. He'd asked him why he had the drugs - that he could BE something. He lightly squeezed her hand and drifted off again.  
  
"I will, Bos. They're ready to take you to the scan now, so I have to wait outside. But I'm not going anywhere, Bos. I'm right here," she said as the staff came back in to begin moving him and his equipment along with him.  
  
She backed up and watched as he was wheeled from the room. Kim and Alex poked their heads into the room to let Faith know that they had another call, but they'd be back as soon as they could. "Wait. I need to tell Littrell something quickly before you go. Something Bosco wanted me to tell him," Faith said, walking out behind the two female medics.  
  
"Littrell," Faith called and motioned for him to come over to her so she could speak privately. When he had reached her, she said "He woke up for a moment. He wanted me to tell you something. I hope you understand it," she said.   
  
"What is it?" he asked, as Kim told Faith that they really had to go.  
  
"He said to tell you that you were right. You ARE something," she said. She saw Littrell smile and turn to follow the two medics out to the bus for another call.  
  
"I guess he understood it," Faith said to herself.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC... 


	9. Chapter 9

Returning the Favor  
  
Chapter 9  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"I have to call his mother. I have to call Rose," Faith said suddenly, not realizing that someone was alongside her.  
  
"I already have Sully and Davis on their way over to pick her up at her job," Lieutenant Swersky told her. She jumped slightly when she realized that someone was with her.  
  
"Oh, thanks," she said to him, noticing Nurse Proctor behind him.  
  
"Faith. Are you sure that you're alright?" the Lieutenant asked her, looking at her hands still covered in Bosco's blood.  
  
"Oh, yeah. This is just... um, from Bosco," she said. "I should probably go get cleaned up, I guess," she said to no one really. "Is he okay?" she said, looking past the Lieutenant to Proctor.  
  
"Yes, Officer. I just though I'd show you where you could get cleaned up. And, I have to evaluate you. You know, standard procedure. You're the only one left that was directly involved with the shooting to be checked out," she said to Faith.  
  
"Oh, okay. They'll know where I am, right?" she asked, following Proctor into an examination room.  
  
"Everyone knows you're with me," Mary told her as they rounded the corner, the Lieutenant and Sgt. Christopher looking on.  
  
"She's screwed-up," said Christopher in his usual, arrogant tone.  
  
The Lieutenant looked over at his Sergeant with a look of disdain. "Of course she's screwed-up. Her partner was shot - who knows how badly - while she wasn't with him because she was moving innocent civilians out of harm's way. She feels guilty for leaving him behind - however, ill-placed that guilt is. What she's feeling is absolutely normal. So, cut her some slack, Christopher. Until you've been in her shoes, you can't have any idea what she's feeling," he finished.  
  
"Yes, Sir," Christopher said, hoping that no one else had heard him get put in his place.  
  
"You have Officer Yokas' home number? I want to call her husband. She probably never even thought of it and if he hears it on the news, he'll probably freak," he said to Christopher, the anger from his last conversation apparently gone.  
  
Christopher thumbed through his book that he kept with him and came up with Faith's home phone number.  
  
The Lieutenant took it and walked over to the phone at the nurse's station, asking for and receiving permission to use the phone. He looked at his watch and dialed the number. He hated calling people late at night. He knew people always thought the worst when their phone rang in the late hours.  
  
The phone was answered in the middle of the second ring. "Hello?" came the anxious voice on the other end of the phone.  
  
"Mr. Yokas? I'm Lieutenant Swersky from the 55th..." the Lieutenant started, only to be interrupted.  
  
"Yes! Is she okay?" Fred replied.  
  
"Yes, she's absolutely fine. Not a scratch," the Lieutenant assured him, hearing the audible sigh of relief on the other end. There was really no easy way to start a conversation with an officer's wife or husband when they were at work.  
  
"What happened?" Fred asked, relieved that his wife was unharmed. However, he also knew that she was involved somehow. "Did she shoot someone?"  
  
"No, Sir," the Lieutenant said. "Her partner, Officer Boscorelli, was shot. He's being evaluated now. Faith is a little shook-up and hasn't thought to call and let you know that she's okay in case you hear it on the news. It all just happened, so I just wanted to give you a call," the Lieutenant said.  
  
"Oh, okay. Should I come down there? How bad is Bosco?" Fred asked, concern for the man who backs-up and protects his wife at work everyday. Bosco had his problems, but he was a good guy and he knew that his wife was safe when he was with her.  
  
"Well, Sir. You'd know better than I would if she'd want you to come down or stay with the kids, so I'll let you make that call. Officer Boscorelli took two gunshots; one to the leg, which doesn't seem to be life-threatening; and one to the upper right chest, which seems to have caused some damage to his spine, although they're trying to determine if it's just temporary," he explained.  
  
"Look, tell Faith I'm on my way. I'll have Mrs. Ross from next door watch the kids - they're sleeping anyway. I'll be there in like 15 minutes," he said. "And, thank you for calling, Lieutenant."  
  
"I'll let her know you're on your way," the Lieutenant said, hanging up the phone. He looked at his watch again, wondering how long a CT Scan took. Faith came around the corner just as Sully and Davis were bringing in Mrs. Boscorelli.  
  
"Faith? What happened to my Maurice?" she asked, rushing over to Faith. Faith put her arm around the concerned mother's shoulders and walked her over to the chairs.  
  
"Rose, he's alive. He is alive," Faith reassured her at the start, thankful that she had cleaned herself off before Rose had arrived. "He was shot twice; once in the leg, which is fine. That bullet didn't hit anything and passed clean through. But, he got shot in the upper right chest and they have him up at CT to evaluate the amount of damage that it might have done," she explained to her.  
  
"But, in the chest? I don't understand? Didn't he have his vest on?" she asked, getting angry at her son for not having on his protective equipment. She'd told him about that numerous times.  
  
"He had his vest on, Rose. It was a freak thing. The only thing I can figure is that he was trying to get out of the shooter's line of fire and turned sideways. His arm must have been up in the air to fire back and the bullet entered in the space between the vest and his underarm," Faith explained.  
  
"So, what happens now?" she asked, not knowing what to do. "Is he awake? Can I see him?"  
  
"He was awake at the scene for a while and I spoke with him for just a moment before they took him up to CT. They have him pretty well drugged up because they want him to keep still until they know what's going on, but I'm sure as soon as they bring him back down, they'll let you in to see him, Rose," she said, holding her hand.   
  
Both Rose and Faith turned toward the door when they heard it open. Faith looked up to see her husband walking through the door. He didn't look angry, like she thought he would because he must have heard it on the news before she called him. He looked worried and anxious. She stood up and walked over to him and he immediately took her into an embrace.  
  
"Faith. Are you okay, honey?" he asked her. "How's Bosco?"  
  
"I'm fine, Fred. I'm sorry I didn't call you right away. I just wanted to find out how Bosco was first," she started. He interrupted her.  
  
"It's okay, Faith. Lieutenant Swersky called me cause he figured you hadn't yet. The kids are with Mrs. Ross - actually she came to our house so I didn't have to wake them up," he explained.  
  
"Thanks, Lieu," Faith said to her superior officer who was standing off to the side. "We don't know how he is yet. I don't think it's life threatening, but there's a question about damage to his spinal cord," she said quietly, so Rose didn't overhear that part. No use getting her upset before she needed to be.  
  
Fred nodded his head in understanding and noticed the shiver that just went through his wife. He took off his jacket and put it around her shoulders. "Thanks," she said quietly, fighting back a tear.  
  
"What is it?" Fred asked her.  
  
"I just..., I don't know. I should have been there with him. Maybe I could have stopped it from happening," she rambled. He shushed her and said, "Faith, you were doing what needed to be done, right?"  
  
She nodded her head. "Then, stop second-guessing yourself. You know you can't stop things that are meant to be," he said. "Who's to say that if you were there with him, you wouldn't have been shot too?" he reasoned. "I guess," she said, trailing off and looking up at the clock again.  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
About a half hour later the elevator doors opened and they saw Bosco being wheeled back into the trauma unit. Rose stood up and rushed over to her son, Faith close behind.  
  
Faith reached out to hold Rose back. "Let them get him settled in first," she said.   
The doctor came over to Faith, a grim look on his face and Faith felt her stomach knot tighten even further.  
  
"Doctor, this is Rose Boscorelli, my partner's mother," Faith explained, the doctor reaching out to shake Rose's hand.  
  
"How is he, Doctor? How badly is Maurice hurt?" Rose asked him, noticing the look on the doctor's face.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC.... 


	10. Chapter 10

Returning the Favor  
  
Chapter 10  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Mrs. Boscorelli," the doctor started as Bosco's coworkers and friends gathered around. "As you know, your son was shot while performing his duties today. He sustained what we call a through-and-through gunshot wound to his left thigh. That means that the bullet entered and exited his leg - it didn't remain inside his leg. Fortunately, on the way through, the bullet didn't hit any major vessels or his femur. This wound has been cleaned out and should heal nicely on its own," he explained.  
  
Rose nodded her understanding and then cautiously said, "What about the other one?"  
  
"Well, that one presents us with more of a challenge. The bullet entered just under his right arm. It traveled until it struck a piece of his rib, then ricocheted up and glanced off his collarbone. From there, it traveled downward along his back. Now, while it missed any major organs, the bullet is resting right up against his spinal cord right about here," the doctor said, indicating the middle of the back on Fred's who happened to be standing closest. "Now, the CT Scan we did doesn't show any actual penetration of the cord, but we believe that it is pressing on the nerves of the cord. This causes swelling of the cord, which we believe is causing his present paralysis," he said, pausing to let the news sink in.  
  
"Paralysis?" Rose asked, trying to remain calm, but losing the battle. "Maurice is paralyzed? Does he know it?" she asked.  
  
"Doctor," Faith interrupted, taking over for Rose who seemed unable to speak at this news. "Is the paralysis permanent?"  
  
"We don't know yet, Officer Yokas. Most of the time, we can leave everything the way it is and monitor with x-rays and CT Scan before we have to decide whether the foreign body - in this case, the bullet - has to be removed," he explained.  
  
"Usually?" Lieutenant Swersky said.  
  
"Yes, well I've had the neurosurgeon and orthopaedic surgeon look at the scan and examine Officer Boscorelli. They feel, and I concur, that because of the closeness of the bullet to the cord and because there are some jagged edges to the remains of the bullet, it has to come out right away. This is to avoid the possibility of the bullet shifting and slicing through the cord, which COULD make paralysis permanent," he explained.  
  
"Any questions for me so far?" asked the doctor, looking around at Bosco's friends.  
  
"When will you do the surgery?" Rose asked, suddenly in control of her emotions again.  
  
"The neuro and bone surgeons are getting ready now," he answered. "The sooner the better."  
  
"Can I see my son before you take him to surgery?" Rose asked.  
  
"Of course. Follow me," the doctor said. Rose started to go and then took Faith's hand. "Please come with me?" she said to Faith.  
  
Faith looked over at the Lieutenant and Fred, then back to Mrs. Boscorelli. "Absolutely," she answered following the doctor and Rose.  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
As they approached the bed, the doctor explained to Rose what he had told Faith earlier. "He may not be able to talk to you. We have him pretty heavily sedated so that he doesn't move until we get that bullet out. But, you can talk to him, because he may be able to hear you," he finished as they reached Bosco's bed.  
  
Rose hesitated a moment, taking in the sight of her son with the oxygen and and IVs hooked up to him. She reached out and took gentle hold of his hand and leaned down to kiss his cheek. In his ear she whispered something that Faith couldn't hear, but she noticed that Bosco's grip on his mother's hand tightened slightly, a lone tear escaping from the corner of his eye.  
  
Rose stood up slightly and looked at Bosco's face. She wiped the tear away for him. "Maurice? Can you hear me, honey? Could you please just try to open your eyes for me for a minute?" she asked him. His eyelids fluttered and then opened slightly, focusing on his mother. He tried to say her name, but because of the medication and trauma that he'd been through, he didn't have the strength.  
  
"I love you, Maurice. The doctor has to do some surgery to take that bullet out of you, but we're all waiting for you," she said, looking over at Faith. "Faith's here and so is the rest of the police department and fire department it seems," she said, smiling back down at her son.   
  
Rose reached over with her other hand and took hold of Faith's hand, gently pulling her toward Bosco. Bosco's eyes moved toward Faith and he saw the look of guilt in her eyes. "Please, Faith. This isn't your fault. Please know that," he thought to himself, trying to convey those thoughts to her.   
  
Faith put a hand on his arm. "Bos. I'll be right outside, waiting for you to get out of surgery. We all will. The Lieu's out there and Sully and Davis and, well, just about everyone - even Fred wanted to be here. I gave Littrell your message. He'll be back with Kim and Alex as soon as they can," she said to her partner. She saw that he was starting to drift off again and wanted Rose to have a few last words before they took him up to surgery, so she stepped back.  
  
Rose stepped back in and gently said, "Maurice, I love you. We're gonna get you through this so just be as strong as you can be and I'll see you in a little while," she said as he closed his eyes and succumbed to the combination of drugs and exhaustion. Rose kissed her son again and moved away so that the staff could finish getting him ready for surgery.  
  
They followed as he was wheeled back to the elevators past his friends and co-workers, the closer of them reaching out to touch his arm or leg as he went by to send him their prayers and good thoughts - even if he couldn't hear or feel them.  
  
The elevator doors closed and Rose slowly started to lean more on Faith, the seriousness of the situation finally settling on her. Faith supported Rose and the group parted so that she could lead her to a chair. Everyone seemed to step back to let her get some fresh air and suddenly a glass of water appeared from somewhere.  
  
"Rose. Everything's gonna be fine. They're gonna get that bullet out and Bosco's gonna be okay," Faith said to her strongly.  
  
"Mikey. I've gotta call Mikey," Rose said, suddenly realizing that Maurice's brother should be here.  
  
Mary Proctor came over to the group and looked over Mrs. Boscorelli to see that she was going to be okay. "You know, you can go upstairs to the waiting room near the Operating Rooms. His surgery will probably be at least two to four hours. You can be closer to him, the chairs there are much more comfortable and there are phones you can use. I'll send up anyone else that comes in," she offered.  
  
"Thanks, Mary," Faith said, looking at the nurse who not so long ago was mistaken for an enemy by Faith when Fred was brought in with his heart attack. Faith helped Rose to her feet and paused for a moment to make sure she was okay. They headed to the elevator, "We'll get a call to Mikey from upstairs, okay?" Faith said, leading her onto the elevator. The group let the two women go up first to give them a few minutes to gather themselves.  
  
The Lieutenant said, "Well, whoever needs to get back on the street, let's get going. Whoever is due to hand over their RMPs, do that. Christopher, get me back to the station so I can start paperwork and temporarily fill Boscorelli's and Yokas' shifts."  
  
The crowd disbursed. It remained unsaid, but everyone knew that they'd all meet up back here as soon as they could. A number of them planned on stopping down to the blood bank to give blood in case their fellow officer and friend needed it.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC... 


	11. Chapter 11

Returning the Favor  
  
Chapter 11  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
It was now 3:00 a.m. Bosco was still in surgery. It had been about three hours. Faith had sent Fred back home so that the kids wouldn't wake up in the morning and find them both gone. She thought that it would scare them after what happened the night of the blackout. Fred told her he'd get the kids off to school, grab her some clean clothes and come back in the morning. He gave her a kiss and told her that he was glad she was okay. "Give the kids a kiss for me," she said, smiling up at him.  
  
Ty, Sully, Angela, Kim, Alex, Doc and Carlos were there, along with Littrell. The crews from the firehouse and the police station had been taking turns as their shifts changed. Lieutenant Swersky had called a few times and Faith finally told him that she would call him when he was out of surgery.  
  
Everyone was sitting, with the exception of Bosco's mother who kept pacing and looking at her watch. Alex and Kim had tried to get her to calm down. They offered to take her to get a cup of coffee. It wasn't until Bosco's brother, Mikey, arrived that she settled down somewhat. But, that didn't last long and she was up and pacing again.  
  
The television in the waiting room was on and for what seemed like the millionth time the newscaster was reporting on the heroic efforts of a cop from the 55th Precinct. They watched as the reporter again told of how the police officer was shot by the mentally disturbed ex-employee at the Prescott Building earlier in the day. But, the reporter added, it was not before he made sure that the disturbed man would be unable to harm anyone else.   
  
Faith got up and walked over and switched the television off. "He'd hate that," she said simply and everyone knew she was right. Bosco wasn't the kind of cop that enjoyed killing people. Sure, he liked to make life tough for the scumbags, but this reporter was making him out to have shot some deranged man so he couldn't escape into the City and kill more. He wasn't going anywhere. ESU was there and all the exits were covered. He just wanted to provide some coverage for the civilians and medics so that they could get to safety.  
  
"What the hell's taking so long?" Ty finally said.   
  
"They said it could be as much as four hours or more. It's really delicate surgery," Alex said, even though she knew he knew.  
  
Carlos walked over to Littrell. "So, this is pretty familiar," Carlos said to him.   
  
"Oh yeah? How so?" asked Littrell.  
  
"My first week with the 5-5 and we were going to a call for a man down with gunshot wounds. I was the new guy, like you are now, and I was with Doc and another medic, Jerry. Anyway, we were walking up the stairs of this apartment building and Jerry was ahead of us. We reached the top of the stairs to the second floor when all of a sudden we were being shot at. Doc and I were both able to take cover, but Jerry was right there, man. He took it all. Right in the chest. He fell down the stairs and we had no idea where this mental patient took off to. Doc tried to go help Jerry, but the guy was still there. He shot at Jerry again and hit him in the arm. Jerry almost died," Carlos said, thinking back to that night. "Anyway, it was just like this - everyone standing around and waiting," he finished after a moment.  
  
Littrell nodded and looked around the waiting room. "You guys are all like family. It's nice," he said as he walked over to Kim.  
  
A few minutes later the door to the surgical waiting area opened and all eyes fell upon Bosco's surgeon.   
  
Rose and Faith both stood up and walked over to the doctor, followed by Mikey.  
  
"Doctor? Is he okay? Is my Maurice okay?" Rose asked anxiously.  
  
The doctor looked exhausted and took the surgical cap from his head as he took a deep, relaxing breath. After what seemed like forever, but was in reality only a fraction of a second, he looked at Rose and Faith and smiled.  
  
"Well, Mrs. Boscorelli, Officer Yokas, we were able to repair his leg wound. We were able to remove the bullet from his back and repaired the damage done as it traveled through his chest. The bullet was resting just against the spinal cord. But, from what we could tell there was no actual damage to the cord. There is some bruising and inflammation, along with some nerve damage. We feel that this is what is causing his paralysis - which we feel is only temporary. Now, it's impossible to predict how the nerves will react in how quickly they heal, but with therapy and hard work, I believe Officer Boscorelli should be able to make a complete recovery," he said, looking at the two women to see if they had any questions.  
  
"Can I see him?" both of them asked at the same time.   
  
The doctor laughed and said, "Well, we're getting ready to take him to the recovery room. Why don't you give us a little bit to get him settled and then you can go and see him. He'll probably still be sleeping and he still has the medication to paralyze him so that he doesn't aggravate the spinal cord while it is trying to heal, so if I'm not there when he wakes up, please explain to him that is why he is still unable to move."  
  
The two nodded and the doctor shook Rose's hand and turned to return to his patient, stopping for a moment and turning back to the group. "By the way, whoever treated Officer Boscorelli at the scene did a fine job in preventing any further injury. He could have very easily suffered a permanent insult to his spinal cord had he been moved incorrectly even the slightest bit." Alex and Kim looked at each other and then over to Littrell, who seemed to be a bit embarrassed. The doctor turned and left.  
  
After the door closed, Faith and Rose hugged each other. Rose turned to Mikey to give him a hug and the crowd from the police and fire station came over to join in the good news as Faith went to the call the Lieutenant.  
  
"Littrell, you did a great job out there today," Kim said to him as Alex agreed.  
  
"Thanks," he replied. "It was a pretty stressful day," he said, suddenly feeling the tension he had been feeling all day leave him as one by one, members of the police and fire departments came along to congratulate and welcome him aboard.  
  
"Yeah, well you held your own, that's for sure," Alex said to him.  
  
A nurse came out into the waiting area to tell Rose and Faith that they could go back and see Bosco for a few minutes and they followed her through the doors to the Recovery Room.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC... 


	12. Chapter 12

Returning the Favor  
  
Chapter 12  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Faith and Rose were in the Recovery Room and Rose had just stepped out to go and tell Mikey what was going on.   
  
"Bos, if you can hear me, you're gonna be fine so just relax and get well," she said to him quietly. She saw a frown come across his face and it looked as though he were trying to wake up. "Shhh, it's okay Bosco. You're okay. You're in the hospital and your out of surgery. The doctor said you're going to be fine," she said again, trying to reassure him and putting a hand on his shoulder.  
  
Another moment passed and he was able to open his eyes and focused on his partner. "Faith," he said in a whisper, his throat dry from the anesthesia and medications. He looked her over to see that that his partner was unhurt. He didn't really remember much after getting shot. He noticed blood on her uniform and gave her a puzzled look.  
  
"Bosco, welcome back," she said with a smile. "I'm fine. This is your's," she said noticing the look on his face as he took in her appearance. "Just relax and don't try to talk. I'll tell you everything that the doctor told me."  
  
"Can't move," he managed to get out, the frown returning to his face.  
  
She nodded her head and said, "Yes, I know. It's a combination of the medicine and the injury. They want to keep you still so that you have a chance to heal. The bullet went up against your spine, but they were able to remove it. It didn't do any damage to the cord, but it's bruised and inflamed. They want to keep you still so that it has a chance to subside."  
  
"Don't like it," he said wearily, closing his eyes momentarily.   
  
"I know, Bos, but it's okay. You're not paralyzed," she said as Rose came back into the room. "Your Mom is here so I'm gonna let her get in here. I'm gonna go let everyone know in the waiting room that you're awake and talking," she said to him, waiting to see if it was okay for her to go. He nodded slightly and Faith gave his shoulder a squeeze and stepped away.  
  
"He's awake," she told Rose as she walked over to the door.  
  
Rose stepped up to her son. "Maurice. You gave us quite a scare, but the doctor said that you're going to be just fine. Mikey's outside and so are all your friends from the police station and the fire station," she said to him as she gently ran her hand through his hair in a soothing gesture like when he was a little boy.  
  
"Ma," Bosco started. Rose looked at him and started to tell him not to try to talk, but by the look in his eyes she knew there was something he had to say.  
  
"What is it Maurice? Do you have pain?" she asked, looking him over.  
  
"No. Ma," he started again. "I just wanted to tell you that I love you and to thank you for everything over the years," he managed to get out before he grew tired again.  
  
"Oh, Maurice. I love you too. Now, you just try to get some rest. Close your eyes and take a nap. The doctors and nurses will be in here soon enough poking at you and then soon you'll be starting the physical therapy to help your back. Then you'll WISH you could take a nap whenever you wanted to," she said with a smile as he drifted off again.  
  
She watched him sleep for a few moments then sat down in the chair next to his bed and closed her eyes as she listened to the sounds of his breathing and the everyday sounds of a hospital. All too soon the nurse was back to check on him.  
*^*^*^*^*^^*  
  
"So, how is he?" Sully asked Faith as she came out into the waiting room and everyone looked to her for information.  
  
"He's doin' good. He's awake a little. He doesn't like that he can't move, but I told him that was only temporary from the medicine and stuff," she said, letting out a breath that she didn't realize she'd been holding. She immediately felt some of the tension of the past hours leave her as she realized that he was going to be okay. She felt a slight dizziness and reached out to steady herself on the wall.  
  
"Whoah," Ty said, reaching out to hold her arm. "Are you alright, Faith?"  
  
Alex, Kim and Doc came over. "Yeah. I think I'm just, I don't know, really tired and now that I know that he's gonna be okay.... I don't know, but I'm better," she said, shaking off the feeling with slight embarrassment.  
  
The Lieutenant came over to her. "Why don't we go down and get you something to eat and maybe something to drink," he suggested to her.  
  
"I'm okay, Boss. Really," she said, looking at him.  
  
"Yeah, well I'm not. And I need to go over what went on in the Prescott Building for my reports, so let's go, Officer," he ordered more than asked her. Actually, it would be good to get away to a quiet area, away from all the people waiting around.  
  
"Sure, Lieu. Let's go," she said. She turned to Sully and said, "If anyone needs me I'll be down in the cafeteria with the Boss."  
  
"Take your time, I'll be here 'til you get back," Sully said. Faith nodded and walked with the Lieutenant to the elevators.  
^*^*^*^*^^*  
  
Once the elevator doors closed, Sully turned to Kim and Alex. "She looks like crap," he stated.  
  
"Yeah, well she hasn't really had any time to absorb everything that happened. The Lieutenant did a good thing making her go sit down somewhere away from all this," Alex said, looking around at the mass of people.  
  
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Sully said as he went over to sit down.  
^*^*^*^*^  
  
"Okay. Feeling a little better, Yokas?" asked the Lieutenant as he watched her drink some juice and take a few bites of a muffin.  
  
She nodded. "Yeah, thanks Lieu. I didn't realize how tired I was," she admitted.  
  
"Feel up to talking about it yet?" he asked her. "I could really use some answers for Chief Hancock. He's breathing down my neck, but I told him I wanted to make sure my officer was going to be okay first," he explained.  
  
"Yeah, Lieu. No problem. Let's see," she said, thinking back to what seemed like months ago, but was only yesterday. "We made our way up to the floor below the suspect - we could hear shots being fired on the floor above us - Sully, Davis, Bosco and myself were covering the medics while they evacuated the injured civilians. We saw ESU go up the stairwell to the next floor and heard some shooting. We hurried up the medics as much as we could and then all hell broke loose," she said, taking a breath to take another drink of her juice and another bite of muffin.  
  
"Okay, so you weren't in the stairwell," the Lieutenant clarified in his mind.  
  
Faith shook her head, "No, not yet. We were getting the last of the people out. Sully and Davis were covering them in the stairwell. They were almost all out into the stairwell when we heard more gunshots and then the stairwell door on the opposite side of the room slammed open. We heard over the radio that one of the ESU guys was down and the suspect had his weapon and was headed our way," she said, the tension of those moments starting to be felt again.  
  
"Yeah, that was Thompson. He's gonna be okay, but out of commission for awhile," the Lieutenant told Faith.  
  
"Good. I'd forgotten all about him," she said solemnly. The Lieutenant nodded his understanding.  
  
"Then what?" he said.  
  
"Well, Bosco was closest to the guy and he turned around and aimed his weapon at him. He yelled to me - I was by the door to the stairwell with Doc and the last of the injured. He yelled to me to get Doc out. That he'd cover the guy. He yelled to close the door, I guess so that no bullets ricocheted into the stairwell," she said, seeing the scene unfold in her mind.  
  
"Anyway, the door locked and I couldn't get back in. Then I heard more shots. I heard ESU say they were gonna break through the door and throw a concussion grenade in. I got on my radio to see if I could find out where Bosco was in the room for them, so they didn't throw the grenade right next to him and to warn him about what was gonna happen. He answered me and I relayed the information to ESU," she said, taking a deep breath and picking up her juice.  
  
"Then, I heard ESU go in, the explosion from the grenade and more shots. Then it was silent and I heard someone - not Bosco - on the radio saying the scene was secure and they had an officer down," she said, the glass falling from her hand and breaking on the table, the juice splashing against her uniform - the uniform that still had Bosco's blood on it.  
  
"Yokas, are you okay?" the Lieutenant said, standing up and putting some napkins on the table to soak up the juice.  
  
Faith was shaken from her thoughts by the Lieutenant's voice. "What? Oh yeah, sorry Lieu," she said, starting to help him clean it up and cutting herself on a piece of broken glass.  
  
One of the staff from the cafeteria came over with a cloth and a tray. "I'll take care of that. Oh, now you cut yourself. Why don't you go clean that out and get a bandage for that and I'll finish this," she said in a motherly tone.  
  
"Thanks. Sorry," Faith said as she and the Lieutenant walked toward the door. "The next thing I know, I was next to him on the floor and he was bleeding and saying he couldn't move. Then the medics came in and started treating him. And then, we were in the ambulance on our way here. You know the rest," she finished, peeling the napkin away from her cut to see if it had stopped bleeding yet.  
  
"Okay, you're gonna have to write that up sometime today or tomorrow for me, but it'll give me enough information for Hancock for now," the Lieutenant said. "Yokas, you should really go home and get cleaned up and get some rest," he said.  
  
"Yeah, I'm just gonna hang around here for a little while more. Fred's coming back after he gets the kids off to school and I'll ride home with him for a little bit," she said, looking at her watch and seeing that it was just about time for the kids to get to school.  
  
"Okay. I'm gonna head back to the station to brief everyone after I check with Boscorelli's doctor. I'll come back later on, but if you see him again before you leave, tell him 'good job' for me," he told her.  
  
"Yeah, thanks Lieu," she said as he turned to go find Bosco's doctor. Faith felt cold all of a sudden as she walked alone back to Bosco's floor.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC... 


	13. Chapter 13

Returning the Favor  
  
Chapter 13  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
About three months had passed since Bosco was shot. He had been undergoing some pretty intense physical therapy at the hospital. He had badgered the doctors and the Department about coming back to work. He was going stir crazy just going for his therapy and going home. Sure, the guys would stop by and bring him with them when they went out as a group, but it just wasn't the same. They were all swapping stories and having new adventures and he was getting left behind. Of course, the therapy did have it's perks - he was on a more than professional level with more than one of the nurses that took care of him while he was in the hospital. Finally, after he was able to get around more than a little bit with just a cane - having been able to get rid of the wheelchair - he was allowed back to light duty. That meant working the desk and helping out with processing the incoming prisoners into the holding cells. He had a newfound respect for the Lieutenant's job when he started helping out with the tremendous amount of paperwork, but he was longing for the day that he could re-join Faith on patrol.  
  
Littrell had been in to see him quite frequently while he was in the hospital and they had become pretty good friends. A lot of times when he wasn't working, Littrell would either pick Bosco up and bring him or meet him at the hospital to help him with his therapy. He actually enjoyed it and was thinking of going back to school to become a therapist. He'd never give up his job as a paramedic because he loved it and had managed to become part of the family that is the FDNY.   
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
On this day, Bosco was working the desk and Littrell was working across the street with Alex. Doc had taken a rare day off so Carlos was working with Kim. "I'd like to be a fly on the wall of that bus," Bosco thought to himself as he made his way across the street. On the days that he didn't have therapy, he usually wandered over to Camelot to work out with either Jimmy or Littrell. He'd gotten into the routine of a daily workout when he was first in therapy so he just kept it up and he'd never felt stronger.  
  
Jimmy watched Bosco making his way across the street and Littrell came up behind him, knowing that it was about that time. "I never thought he'd make it back this fast," Jimmy said to Littrell over his shoulder.  
  
"The man has determination. I'll give him that," Littrell said, slapping Jimmy on the back and heading off to the locker room to get his sweats on.  
  
Jimmy walked outside to meet Bosco as he came to the door. "Hey, Bosco. Littrell's looking for a pretty heavy workout today. You sure you're up for it?" he said lightly.  
  
"Bring it on," Bosco said, walking into the locker room to change from his uniform to his gym clothes.  
*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
Just as Bosco and Littrell started their workout, the alarm sounded, sending the truck on a fire call along with Alex and Littrell. Littrell put his weights down and started to get up when Kim and Doc ran by. "Keep working, we'll take this one!"  
  
"Thanks, guys," Littrell called after them as he went back to his workout.   
  
Alex peeked around the corner. She had finished doing some work out on the apparatus and greeted Bosco, "Hey Bosco! Littrell, I'm gonna hit the shower while you guys are working out. Holler if we get a run."  
  
"You got it, Alex," Littrell responded.  
  
A few minutes after Alex had gone upstairs, a lone figure wandered into the station. He noticed that there seemed to be no one around and started looking through the firehouse. He heard some noise down a hallway that sounded like weights being used and he cautiously headed in that direction.  
  
He stood outside of the room and listened to the conversation of the two men and immediately recognized one of the voices as the man he was looking for. He took the gun out of his waistband and took one last look around to make sure that no one was going to interfere. He stepped into the doorway and located his target.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC... 


	14. Chapter 14

Returning the Favor  
  
Chapter 14  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Alex was in the shower and thought she heard a noise. She listened for a moment, letting the hot water run down her back. Suddenly, she heard more noise. This time, she thought she knew what the noise was - gunfire. "Who the hell would be shooting on the same block as a police station?" she thought to herself as she turned off the water and grabbed her towel. As soon as she turned off the water, she realized that the sound was echoing throughout the station - the gunfire was coming from inside the house.  
  
She threw her clothes on and grabbed her cell phone at the same time. She dialed 9-1-1 and reported gunfire at the firestation at King and Arthur. She received confirmation from the 9-1-1 operator that help was on the way and she listened to see if she could hear anymore. There was just silence. She thought of Littrell and Bosco down in the weight room and cautiously made her way to the stairs.  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
At the same time as the unknown man positioned himself in the doorway, Bosco had looked up. He immediately saw the gun in the man's hand and yelled out, "Gun!" He rolled himself off the weight bench and onto the floor, landing hard and grabbing for his gym bag that he had set alongside of him with his weapon inside. Bosco absently reached for the portable radio that should have been clipped to his shoulder, and quickly realized that he didn't have it because he was working on the desk, not out on the street wit his partner.  
  
Bosco heard the start of the gunfire and pulled his weapon from the holster. "Police! Drop the gun!" he yelled out to the subject and the gunfire stopped for a split-second. He looked around to see where Littrell had gone and saw him lying on the floor alongside of the bench he'd been working at.  
  
There was another round of gunfire as Bosco tried to get a vantage point to fire back. He was unable to since if he moved, he'd be out in the open. The gunfire stopped and the subject ran out of the room toward the front of the station after dropping his weapon on the floor, empty of any rounds.  
  
Bosco quickly and painfully moved around the bench toward Littrell who lay motionless on the floor, unconscious. He felt for a pulse and found one. He knew Alex was upstairs and hoped that the shooter hadn't headed up there to hide. He listened and heard that the shower had turned off and he prayed that Alex had the common sense to stay put until the scene could be secured.   
  
He looked over Littrell to see where his injuries were and noticed blood from his left arm and what looked like a through-and-through wound to his side. "Why is he unconscious then?" Bosco asked himself as he looked around. He tried to stand up so that he could search the firehouse for any sign of the man and to get to the phone in the unlikely event that no one heard the gunshots and the police hadn't been notified. As soon as he tried to stand, he realized by the pain shooting through his back that he'd injured himself trying to get to cover and to get to his weapon. "Dammit!" he said aloud as he thought of what to do.  
  
He heard a quiet voice call his name and realized that Alex must be trying to come downstairs.  
  
"Stay where you are, Alex," Bosco said to her. "I don't know where this jag-off went yet," he said.  
  
"Are you guys okay?" Alex asked him.  
  
"I'm okay, but Littrell's hit. It doesn't look serious to me, but he's unconscious," Bosco answered her. "Did you see who it was?" he asked her.  
  
"No. I was in the shower when I heard the shots. I called 9-1-1 from my cell phone upstairs. They're on the way," she said, as she heard sirens in the distance and voices from outside which must be the cops from the police station responding.  
  
"Okay. Good job. Call 9-1-1 back and tell them to keep the rest of the crew away from the area in case they were on their way back. I don't know if this jag-off was after me or a firefighter or a medic," Bosco said.  
  
"Okay," she said. "Should I come down there?"  
  
"No. Wait until we've secured the building. I'll tell them you're there," Bosco answered her, a twinge of pain shooting up his back and down his legs.  
*^*^*^*^*^*^^*  
The overhead speakers in the police station came alive with the voice of the dispatcher. "All units of the 5-5. Shots fire at Station 55 - King and Arthur. Repeat, shots fired at Station 55 - King and Arthur."  
  
Suddenly, the fire station was swarming with police officers. Faith had known that Bosco was over here working out, so she knew exactly where to look for him. She came into the room with her weapon out ahead of her and made eye contact with him.  
  
"He's not in here, but Littrell needs some help. He's hit," he told Faith.  
  
"Okay," she answered him, noticing the paleness of his face and the perspiration and pained look. "Are you hit?" she thought with a sick feeling.  
  
He shook his head no and said, "I think I hurt myself trying to get to my weapon too quick. Alex is upstairs. Tell them not to shoot her," he said, trying to lighten the tone a little.  
  
"Yeah, okay," Faith said. "There's a medic on the second floor," she reported into her radio.  
  
"10-4. We've got her. She's okay and on her way down," answered Sully from the second floor.  
  
"We need her in the weight room. We've got a medic down in here," Faith said and Alex appeared around the corner.  
  
"Hey Faith. Better call for another bus. Doc and Kim are out on a run," Alex told her as she quickly assessed Littrell and looked over at Bosco.  
  
"You look crappy. You sure you're not hit?" Alex said to Bosco, doing a body survey of Littrell to find his injuries. Ty brought in her equipment from their rig out back and she started to work.  
  
"No. I'm okay," Bosco assured her.  
  
"Okay. Then get over here and help me," Alex said to him.  
  
"Um... that I can't do. I think I hurt myself trying to move too fast. My legs aren't working again," Bosco said, the pain taking it's toll on him.  
  
"Ty, Faith, get him onto a backboard and collared," Alex told the two officers.  
  
Sully transmitted over the radio. "Central, this is 55-David. Be advised that Station 55 is secure. We need two buses and crime scene over here," he said noticing the two patients and the spent cartridges and empty gun lying on the floor as the Lieutenant came into the building.  
  
"Is he okay?" Faith asked, indicating that she was talking about Littrell as she and Ty finished moving Bosco to the board as carefully as they could.  
  
"I think so. I think he must have hit his head when he fell and that's what knocked him out. The gunshot wounds don't look too serious," Alex told them, much to Bosco's relief.  
  
Doc and Kim showed up to take Littrell to the hospital and Alex rode in with Bosco in Jaime and Sam's bus, medics from the 5-2.  
  
"We've really got to start getting out more," Alex said sarcastically to Bosco since she was one of the medics that brought him into the hospital when he was shot.  
  
"Yeah, tell me about it," Bosco said as another sharp pain tightened his back.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC... 


	15. Chapter 15

Returning The Favor  
  
Chapter 15  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Bosco felt himself being wheeled into the emergency room of Angel of Mercy. He could see Faith alongside him with a worried look on her face. God, she'd worried enough lately.  
  
"Faith," he said, but too low. "Faith!" he repeated louder, this time getting her attention. She looked at him and bent down to reassure him.  
  
"We're here, Bos. It's okay. You're gonna be okay," she said, trying to reassure him. He tried to shake his head 'no' - to tell her that wasn't what he was worried about - but because of the spinal immobilization he was unable.   
  
"No, Faith. I just wanted to tell you to lighten up a little. I'm okay," he said, trying to smile through the pain that was pulsating in his back and legs. "At least I can feel my legs this time," he thought to himself.  
  
"Ligthen' up?!" Faith said, almost sounding angry with him for making light of his situation.  
  
"How's Littrell?" Bosco asked as he caught sight of his friend being brought in alongside him. "I couldn't find out anything back at the house."  
  
Faith looked over in the direction of Littrell and then back to Alex. "Alex'd know better than me," she said, deferring to Alex who was at the head of the stretcher that Bosco was on, pushing him into the exam room.  
  
"Uh, looks like he's still unconscious. But, I don't think the wounds are very serious," she said, looking over at Littrell being transferred from the ambulance stretcher to the hospital's bed. "I'll go see what I can find out," she said, starting to peel away from the rest of the entourage.  
  
"Alex!" Bosco called to her, making her stop and turn back to him. "Thanks, for saving my ass once again. I couldn't get to my phone," he said.  
  
"No problem, but don't make a habit of it," she joked as she returned to the mission she'd been sent on.  
  
Bosco felt himself being moved from the ambulance stretcher to the hospital bed and despite how hard he tried, the pain from the movement made him cry out. He gripped tighter onto what he was holding and then realized by Faith's face that it was her hand and loosened his grip. A fine film of sweat developed on his forehead and then he passed out.  
*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
Alex walked over to where Littrell was being treated. She stood in the corner of the room so that she wasn't in the way. She watched and listened as the doctors examined him. Apparently, there were no life-threatening gunshot wounds, but they had to determine why he was unconscious. He would require surgery to explore the wound in his side, but the doctors didn't expect to find anything serious according the x-rays. He would be sent for a CT scan of his head before surgery and was being prepared to make that move shortly.  
  
Alex walked over to let Bosco know what was going on, when she heard one of the nurses say that Littrell seemed to be regaining consciousness.  
  
"Mr. Griffith, you're at Angel of Mercy. I'm Doctor Conrad and you're going to be just fine. You were shot, but your wounds do not appear to be life-threatening. Do you understand?" asked the doctor in charge of the patient.  
  
Littrell didn't answer right away as his mind processed what had happened. "What the hell happened," he thought to himself when out of the corner of his eye he saw Alex.  
  
"Alex," he said. "What happened?" The doctor looked over his shoulder at the medic and stepped aside to make room for her to come closer.  
  
"Littrell, you're gonna be fine, just like the doctor said. You and Bosco were working out in the weight room when somebody came in and started shooting," she said, and then was interrupted.  
  
"Bosco. How is he?" Littrell asked, suddenly remembering what had happened.  
  
"He's okay. They have him in the next room just to check him over," Alex said, trying to keep him calm. He had enough to worry about and Bosco was in good hands.  
  
"Saved my life," Littrell said. "I didn't see the him come in until it was too late. Bosco shouted to me about the gun, but I didn't move quick enough," he said, getting slightly agitated.  
  
"Hey, okay. It's over now and everyone's gonna be fine so just relax and concentrate on getting better. I gotta go tell Bosco what's going on with you so he can stop worrying, okay? I'll be right back," Alex said and Littrell nodded.  
  
Alex moved to the other side of the curtain again to let Bosco know what was going on and noticed that he seemed to be unconscious. She looked at the doctors and then at Faith. "What happened?"  
  
"Doctor thinks it's from the pain and moving him. He passed out, but they said his vitals were good. They're gonna send him for x-rays and the back doctor's coming down to look at him," Faith said. "How's Littrell?"  
  
"Okay. He's gonna need some minor surgery, just to look around and make sure nothing got nicked, but he seems to be okay. He's conscious. He said that Bosco saved him from getting hurt worse," Alex reported.  
  
"Yeah, he has a habit of doing that for people," Faith said, looking over at her partner.  
  
"I'm gonna go let everyone outside know what's going on. You okay in here?" Alex asked.  
  
"Yeah, thanks again Alex," Faith said.  
  
"Like I told Bosco, just don't make a habit of this," Alex said jokingly and walked out of the room.  
*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
Alex walked out into the waiting room and was immediately surrounded by personnel from the police and fire departments. She gave her reports on both men and then Lieutenant Swersky, from the police department, asked her if Littrell could talk. They needed to get some information, because apparently there was no one around outside the firehouse when the suspect came in so they had no description or identification.  
  
Alex told the Lieutenant that Littrell was conscious, but that they were getting ready to bring him to CT and then surgery. The Lieutenant left to see if he could get some information out of the injured medic before they took him upstairs so they could start looking for the suspect.  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
Lieutenant Swersky briefly spoke with Littrell's doctor and got permission to speak to him before they took him upstairs. He walked over to Littrell's bed and introduced himself.  
  
"Mr. Griffith. I'm Lieutenant Swersky of the 5-5. Do you feel up to answering a couple of questions? We'd really like to be able to start looking for whoever did this to you."  
  
"Sure," Littrell said weakly.  
  
"Okay. Did you see the suspect that shot you?" the Lieutenant asked.  
  
"Just before I hit the floor. Bosco and I were working out in the weight room. I had my back to the doorway, but Bosco was on the other bench and was facing the doorway. We'd just started our workout when I heard Bosco yell 'Gun!'," the medic explained. "I guess I hesitated just long enough to get hit when he opened fire. I saw Bosco dive off his weight bench and try to get to his bag where his gun was and then I felt the bullet slam into my side. As I fell, I must have turned because I remember landing and making eye contact with him," Littrell continued, getting visibly upset.  
  
"Okay, just relax, Littrell. You're doing fine. Now, did you know this man, or have you ever seen him around anywhere? Possibly someone you treated while you were working?" the Lieutenant asked.  
  
Littrell shook his head. "I know exactly who it was and he wasn't aiming at anyone but me," he said, the tension clearly evident on his face.  
  
"Okay. So, who is he and why was he gunning for you?" the Lieutenant asked, grateful that they were about to get a positive identification on the shooter.  
  
"His name's Johnny Branson. He's my brother-in-law and he didn't like the fact that I helped my sister and my niece and nephew leave him and go to a shelter. He's been beating her and the kids and threatened to kill me if I didn't tell him where she went," Littrell said, hardness settling in his face.  
  
"Okay, do you know where this Johnny Branson lives? And if you let me know where your sister and her kids are, I'll send someone to check on them to make sure they're okay while you're in here," the Lieutenant offered.   
  
Littrell gave him the address of both his brother-in-law and the location of his sister and her children. And then, the doctor returned and said that it was time to take Littrell upstairs.  
  
The Lieutenant shook Littrell's hand and told him that he would send Officers Sullivan and Davis to check on his relatives. Lieutenant Swersky went back out to the waiting room and briefly spoke with Sully and Ty who then left to do their assignment. Faith came over and talked with the Lieutenant who informed her of the information. He told her that he was going back to the station to put out the information on Johnny Branson and have someone go sit on his apartment in case he came back.  
*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
As Littrell was being wheeled to the elevator, he remembered the words of his brother-in-law as he struck his head on the floor at the fire station and started to lose consciousness. "I will finish the job," were the words out of the man's mouth right before Littrell lost consciousness, as he heard the approaching sirens of help.  
  
He wondered if Bosco had heard those words as well and again worried about the only other person that could identify his brother-in-law as the subject who had shot at Bosco and himself.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC... 


	16. Chapter 16

Returning the Favor  
  
Chapter 16  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Bosco began waking up. He looked around the room and saw that he was in the recovery room, which meant he'd had more surgery. He immediately tried to move his legs and discovered he was unable to. He started to panic slightly until he heard a voice beside him.  
  
"It's okay. It's just the spinal anesthesia they gave you. You can still move," said Littrell who was in the bed next to him.  
  
"Hey, man. How are you?" asked Bosco sleepily.  
  
"Okay, I guess. They did some exploratory surgery, but nothing needed to be repaired. I'll be out of here in a couple of days," he answered, still a little groggy himself. He'd been done with his surgery and awake for about an hour and a half, but had talked the doctor into letting him stay here instead of going to his room until Bosco woke up.  
  
"Good. What the hell happened?" Bosco said, thinking back to the shooter at the firehouse. "Who was that guy?"  
  
And there it was. Bosco had heard what Johnny said. Bosco noticed that Littrell hadn't answered and he turned his head to look at him, fighting off the sleep from the pain medication that was calling to him. "Littrell?"  
  
"That was my brother-in-law, Johnny Branson. He wants me to tell him where my sister and his kids are, but that ain't gonna happen," Littrell answered finally. "He's crazy. There's no telling what he'll do now. Your Lieutenant sent Sully and Davis over to the shelter to check on them and my guess is they're out looking for Johnny. But, he's good. They won't find him until he wants to be found," Littrell said somberly.  
  
After a moment of silence, Littrell said, "I'm sorry you got caught in the middle of this, Bosco."  
  
Bosco made a face, dismissing it and said, "No problem. It wasn't your fault. You're just trying to protect your sister. The same thing I would've done. They'll find him and Sully and Davis won't let anything happen to them," he said, drifting off to sleep.  
^*^*^*^*^*^  
When Bosco woke again, he was in a room in the post-surgery wing and he looked over to see Faith sitting beside him.  
  
"Hey. Welcome back," she said with a smile. "How're you feeling?"  
  
"I'm not feeling much. You tell me how I am. Did you talk to the doctor?" he asked her as a nurse came in to check on him.  
  
"He told me that the x-rays showed that a bone fragment left over from your original injury had dislodged when you dove off the bench trying to get to your gun. It was pressing on some muscles and nerves in your back, which was causing your pain and leg weakness. They removed the fragment and you should be out of here in a couple of days," she said.   
  
He nodded his understanding and tried to move his legs again. This time he was successful, although there was still some tingling and numbness. "That feeling should go away over the next hour or so, Maurice," said the nurse and Bosco looked up. He smiled as he recognized one of the nurses that took care of him the last time he was on this floor.  
  
"Hey, Sarah. How the hell are you?" he asked, turning on his Boscorelli charm. Faith rolled her eyes as the two talked for a few minutes.  
  
Sarah said, "We really should stop meeting like this. I'd much rather spend time with you like I did the last time I saw you." Bosco smiled at the young woman.  
  
"Yeah, well maybe in a few days. I should probably rest my back a little bit before I try anything like that again," he said. Sarah giggled.  
  
Faith stood up. "Okay, that's a little more information than I needed to hear," she said, grabbing her purse and walking over to the bed. She noticed the blush on the nurse's cheeks as she realized that there was still someone else in the room. "I'm gonna go home and get some sleep. You need anything before I come back in the morning?" she asked him.  
  
"Yeah, I could use a GOOD cup of coffee," he said, remembering the food from the last time as he kept looking at Sarah.  
  
"You got it. Oh yeah. By the way, Nurse. Could you leave this little light on for Officer Boscorelli? You see, MAURICE doesn't like the dark," Faith teased. She laughed at the look on his face when she walked out of the room and heard him saying to Sarah, "She's just kidding. YOKAS!!!"  
  
"See you in the morning, Bos!" she called back to him, laughing on the way out. She walked by Littrell's room on the way out and stopped in to see if he was awake. He heard her walk in and woke with a start.  
  
"It's okay. It's just me. Sorry to wake you up," Faith said to him.  
  
"Oh. Hi Faith," Littrell said.   
  
"How're you doing?" she asked him.  
  
"I'm okay. How's Bosco doing?" he asked her.  
  
"He's good. Chatting up the nurses as usual," she said with a smile.  
  
"He does have a way with them, doesn't he?" said Littrell.   
  
"I'm bringing back some decent coffee in the morning. Can I bring anything back for you?" she offered.  
  
He shook his head no and then looked at her. "Could you check with Sully and Ty and see if they found my sister and her kids. I just want to know if they're okay," he asked her, worry etched on his face. "I'm all she's got," he added.  
  
"Yeah," she said, looking at her watch. "They should just be getting off shift. I swing by the precinct on the way home and see what I can find out. I'll call the desk and tell the nurse to let you know," she said.  
  
"Thanks, Faith," Littrell said. Faith sensed he had something else to say and waited. "I'm sorry I got Bosco hurt again," he said finally.  
  
"Littrell, this is not your fault. This is all your brother-in-law's fault. And we're gonna find him and then your sister can go back to a normal life without worrying about him coming to find her," Faith said with confidence.  
  
"Thanks," was all Littrell said.   
  
"Okay. I'm gonna go catch Sully and Davis," she said, turning to leave.   
  
Littrell settled back and looked out the window at the dark sky, thinking about the confidence Faith had. "I hope so. I really hope so, but I don't think it's gonna be that easy," he said.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC... 


	17. Chapter 17

Returning the Favor  
  
Chapter 17  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Hey, Sully!" Faith called as she caught him coming out of the locker room on his way home.   
  
"Faith. What're you doing here? I thought you'd be at the hospital," Sully said in surprise.  
  
"Is Bosco okay?" asked Ty as he came out of the locker room as well.  
  
"Trust me, guys. Bosco is in great hands," Faith said sarcastically.  
  
Sully laughed and Ty said, "Oh, getting lots of attention from the nurses again, eh? I don't know how that man does it. He's my hero."  
  
"Yeah, well one of these days he's gonna get one that's gonna kill him. He's not getting any younger you know," Faith joked. "Anyway, he's fine. They removed a piece of bone that broke loose when he rolled off the bench trying to get his gun, but he'll be home in a couple of days, if not sooner."  
  
"Well, that's good news. Doctors still saying he'll be able to come back on the street?" Sully asked, knowing that Bosco would go crazy if he was stuck working in the house.  
  
"They say more so now," Faith said, nodding her head. "With that piece of bone out of there, it should heal nicely without any more problems. But, he's got more therapy on the horizon."  
  
"Great," Ty said. "I was gonna run over and see him and Littrell. You think it's too late?" Davis asked.  
  
"Nah. Go ahead. Speaking of Littrell," said Faith, remembering why she was really here. "Did you guys locate his sister and her kids? He's been really worried. I told him I'd check with you and call the hospital to let him know."  
  
Sully nodded. "Yeah, we found her. She's messed up. I mean somebody beat the crap out of her," he said seriously. "I told her what happened and, of course, she wanted to go to the hospital. I told her Littrell was fine, to stay where she was and that I'd let Littrell know she was safe."  
  
"Good. Hey, Ty. Since you're going over, could you stop in and tell Littrell personally?" Faith asked. "I gotta get home or Fred's gonna think I ran away from home."  
  
"Sure. No problem," Ty said and he turned to go.   
  
"See you tomorrow, partner," Sully said.  
  
"Absolutely," Davis replied walking out the door.  
  
"Want a lift home?" Sully offered.  
  
Faith took him up on it and they walked out toward Sully's car.  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
Littrell was in his room resting with the television on low so as not to disturb the other patient in the room with him. Ty Davis walked in quietly in case he was sleeping. He noticed that he was awake and said, "Hey, Man. How're you doing?"  
  
"Ah. I'm fine. It's just a flesh wound," the medic joked. "Thanks. Bosco's down the hall - the room with all the nurses flocking around it," he said sarcastically.  
  
"Yeah, I heard all about it from Faith. She wanted me to stop by and let you know that we found your sister and her kids and they're still safe. She wanted to come over as soon as she heard about you getting shot, but we convinced her that you were okay and you'd feel better if you knew she was staying put and safe," Davis told him.  
  
"Thanks. I can't thank you enough," Littrell said, extending his hand to shake Davis'.   
  
Ty shrugged and shook his hand. "It's nothing. We take care of our family." Littrell liked that he was thought of as family by the fire and police department of the 5-5. "Alright, I'm gonna stop and see Bosco quick if I can get close enough and then I'm heading home for some sleep. Glad you're okay, Littrell," Ty said as he walked out the door.  
  
Davis walked down the hallway and into Bosco's room. There were three nurses in there and they were all sitting on various edges of his bed talking. Bosco saw his friend come in and smiled broadly. "This is the life, Man," he said.  
  
"Yeah. Well, I came to see if you needed anything, but I see you're all set," Ty said, extending his hand to shake that of his friend. "I just came from Littrell's room and it's pretty boring in there. I think the guy in the next bed is in a coma," he joked dryly.  
  
"Yeah? Well, girls, I need to talk to Officer Davis here. You know, police business. So, if you don't mind can you step out for a few minutes," Bosco said as Ty rolled his eyes. The nurses all stood and straightened his pillows and blanket and then they left.  
  
"Man, what a racket," Ty said.  
  
"Yeah, well. What can I say? Seriously though, is Littrell okay?" Bosco asked, the concern evident on his face.  
  
"Yeah. He seems to be. I guess it wasn't a very serious wound," Ty said, sensing that Bosco was worried about more than that. "Why?"  
  
"Well, I don't know if anyone knows this. I don't even think he knows that I know, but that guy that came in shooting? He wasn't just randomly shooting. He was aiming for Littrell. And he said he'd be back to finish the job before he left," Bosco said to Ty.  
  
"Yeah, well, that guy was his brother-in-law and he was looking for his wife and kids. Littrell got them to a shelter and he wasn't too happy about it, I guess," Ty explained.  
  
Bosco nodded, "Yeah, I know. But I'm worried about him coming back for Littrell."  
  
"You really think he will? Ty asked.  
  
Bosco thought for a moment and finally said, "Yeah, I think it's a good possibility. You think you can talk to someone and get me moved into his room with him? And, I need you to go to my apartment and get me my off-duty gun."  
  
"Bos. Okay, about moving into the same room with him. But, do you really think you need your gun in here? I don't even know if they'll allow it," Ty said.  
  
"Well, I don't think they're gonna put a guard on Littrell and I'd feel better having it in case the guy comes back," Bosco said.  
  
Ty thought for a minute and then agreed to help. He left to go and talk to the doctor in charge for the night.  
*^**^*^*^*^*^^*  
  
About a half hour later, Littrell was being moved into Bosco's room and Ty said he'd bring the item Bosco wanted in tomorrow, taking his apartment keys. "Thanks, Man," Bosco said to his friend.  
  
"Welcome, Roomie," Bosco said to Littrell after he was settled.  
  
"You better not have girls in and out of here all night long, Bosco," Littrell warned him.  
  
"You worry too much, Littrell. Just relax and go with the flow," Bosco joked.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC... 


	18. Chapter 18

Returning the Favor  
  
Chapter 18  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Bosco was at physical therapy and Littrell was having the dressing to his wound changed when Lieutenant Swersky came into the room with a man in a suit that Littrell didn't know.  
  
"Mr. Griffith," the Lieutenant began. "This is Detective Jamison. How are you doing?" he said as the Detective reached over to shake his hand.  
  
"I'm doing okay, I guess. I should be getting out of here probably tomorrow or the next day," Littrell answered.  
  
"Feel up to answering a couple of questions?" asked the Detective. Littrell shrugged his consent.  
  
The Lieutenant sat on the edge of the windowsill while Detective Jamison pulled a chair up to the bedside. "Mr. Griffith, the Lieutenant here told me that the man who shot at you and Officer Boscorelli was your brother-in-law. Is that correct?"  
  
"Yeah. His name's Johnny Branson, like I told the Lieutenant the day it happened. I'm sorry that Bosco got caught up in all this. I didn't know this was gonna happen or I never would have....," Littrell said, getting upset at the fact that his friend got hurt.  
  
"It's okay, Littrell. Bosco's gonna be fine. In fact, he's better now that the piece of bone broke loose and was removed. He'll probably be able to come back to full duty - we weren't sure about that before," the Lieutenant said, trying to calm him down.  
  
"You say he was after you?" Jamison asked him and he shook his head.  
  
"Yeah. He's trying to find my sister and her kids. He beats on her, real bad. I finally got her talked into getting out of there with the kids. I've got her at a shelter. The Lieutenant knows where. She still okay?" he asked the Lieutenant.  
  
"Absolutely. I've got Officer Yokas checking in on them daily and your sister has my phone number to call if there's a problem," he answered.  
  
"I appreciate it, Sir," Littrell said.  
  
"Okay. Do you have any idea of where he might be. Who he might go to for help in hiding out?" Jamison continued.  
  
"No, Sir. I wish I did because the sooner you get him off the street, the sooner my sister and her kids can start living a normal life again."  
  
"Well, we're doing our best. We ran his name and prints for a record and he's got a long one. Are you aware of that?" the Detective asked him.  
  
"Yeah. He's a pretty bad guy. She didn't know that - none of us did - until after they were married," he answered.  
  
"Okay. Well, we'll keep looking for him. If you hear from him or see him, please call the Police right away. Do you have somewhere safe to stay when you get out of here?" the Lieutenant said.  
  
"Yeah, he'll be staying with me," came Bosco's voice from the doorway.   
  
"Actually, they'll both be staying with us," came a voice from behind Bosco and all four men turned toward that voice to see Alex and Ty standing together in the doorway behind Bosco.  
  
"We just got done talking to your doctors. You both get discharged tomorrow. Littrell, you need someone to change your dressings and keep checking on your wound - that's Alex. Bosco, you need physical therapy - that's Littrell. The PT Department is going to show Littrell here what therapy you need and he'll make sure you do it. You both need to be safe from this Johnny Branson guy - that's me," he finished, patting the off duty weapon at his waist, very pleased with himself.  
  
The Lieutenant stood up and added, "Officer Davis is assigned to the both of you in case this guy comes looking for you. You go nowhere without him until the guy is caught or until we're sure he's no longer a threat. Are we on the same page here?"  
  
"I don't need a babysitter, Lieu," Bosco complained.  
  
"Shut up, Bos. Or you're stuck with me and Fred and the kids. What's it gonna be?" Faith chimed in as she entered the room also, knowing that there was no way that Bosco would be able to tolerate Fred for two hours let alone possibly days. Bosco looked over at Littrell who had a grin on his face, and his face dropped as he conceded defeat.  
  
"Alright, it's settled," said the Detective as he and the Lieutenant made their way to the doorway to leave.  
  
"Davis, you're all set on your end?" the Lieutenant asked.  
  
"Absolutely, Sir," Ty replied.  
  
"And no one - not even the crew from Camelot - is to know where you two are staying," the Lieutenant added looking at both Ty and Alex. The two nodded their understanding.  
  
The Lieutenant stopped as he passed Alex. "You're a brave woman, Ms. Taylor."  
  
"Not so brave, Lieutenant. I get to leave to go to work, remember?" she said.  
  
"True," the Lieutenant said with a smirk as he walked out.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC... 


	19. Chapter 19

Returning the Favor  
  
Chapter 19  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Okay. Everyone ready to get out of here?" Ty asked as Faith and Alex helped get their things.  
  
"More than ready," Bosco and Littrell said in unison.  
  
"Is your apartment big enough for all of us?" Bosco asked Davis.  
  
"Yeah, well it'll be a little tight, but it won't be for long. Carlos' bedroom stuff is still there because there was no room for it at his girlfriend's house - they moved in together by the way. You can each have a bedroom and Alex and I will take the sofa sleeper," Ty explained.  
  
"No, you guys can take your bedroom, Littrell here'll sleep in the sofa sleeper," Bosco offered, getting a look from all in the room.  
  
"Nice, Bos," Faith said as they headed out of the hospital.  
  
"I'm kidding!" he said defensively.  
  
"Don't worry about it, Bosco. That way I'll be closer to the door in case anything happens - not that it will," Davis added quickly.  
  
The doctor had finished going over both men's discharge instructions and Alex was briefed on the medication and bandage changes for them both. Now, all that was left was to get out of there and settled at Ty's apartment.  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
Everyone had been settled in and despite the quick recovery both of them were making, the activity of the day had worn them both out - not to mention Ty and Alex. There was a knock on the door and after looking through the peephole, Alex opened the door for Faith.  
  
"Hey. How's Sick Bay?" she asked cheerfully. "Thought I'd stop in on my dinner break. Anyone up for pizza?" she said producing the boxes as she came through the doorway.  
  
"Absolutely!" Alex said. They had forgotten all about dinner and were just realizing why they were all so hungry. Faith went over to the counter in the kitchen and placed the pizzas on the table. Alex got out plates and glasses and Davis brought Littrell and Bosco some.   
  
Faith, Alex and Ty were sitting on the couch eating. The rooms in the apartment were set up so that they could see both Bosco and Littrell from the couch and could carry on conversations easily.  
  
"I need a beer with this," Bosco said.  
  
"Stop whining," Faith joked, handing him a soda. "No beer with your medicine. You, Littrell, may have a beer if you'd like because you are not taking any pain medication," she said, looking over to see Bosco's reaction. "Oh don't be such a baby," she said at the face he'd made.  
  
"Just soda for me. I don't want to overdo it on the first night. So, have you stopped to see my sister tonight?" Littrell asked.  
  
"Yeah. I gave her Ty's number in case she wanted to talk to you. She's glad that your okay and out of the hospital," Faith answered.  
  
"Thanks. Maybe she'll call later. I really want to thank you all for your help. I didn't mean to drag you into this problem. I thought I could handle it," Littrell apologized to the group.  
  
"Don't worry about it, Man," Davis said. "We're all like family here. We help each other all the time - some more than others," he finished as they all looked at Bosco.  
  
"That hurt, Davis," he said, knowing that it was true. "But you have to admit that I've improved."  
  
"Mmmmm, the jury's still out on that one," Alex chimed in.  
  
"Well, my dinner break's over, so I'm gonna hit the streets again. Anyone need anything while I'm out there? I could bring it by after shift," Faith offered.  
  
"I think we're all set. Thanks for the pizza," Alex said, walking Faith to the door. Ty went to get the dirty dishes from Littrell and Bosco.  
  
"Well, I don't know about anyone else, but I'm beat. Anyone up for bedtime?" Alex said as Ty finished putting the rest of the pizza in the refrigerator.  
  
"Sounds good to me," he said, putting an arm around Alex's shoulders.  
  
"I hope we're not gonna have to listen to you to makin' out during the night," Bosco said with a look of disgust on his face.  
  
"I think I could've put it better, but I agree with Boscorelli," Littrell said with a smile.  
  
"Don't worry. I'm too tired tonight. We'll save that as tomorrow night's entertainment. Everyone all set - need anything before we turn out the lights and lock-up?" Alex offered.  
*^*^*^*^**^*^*^*  
  
Alex had finished changing the bandages on both men and was ready to head off to work. "Are you sure you're gonna be okay with them by yourself?" she asked Ty as he walked her to the door.  
  
"They're grown men. I think we'll be okay," Ty said, giving her a kiss as she started to pull the door shut.  
  
"I know they're grown men. Remember, 9-1-1 if you need reinforcements," she teased and pulled the door shut before he could make a comment.  
  
Littrell was helping Bosco with his physical therapy and Davis called in to let the Lieutenant know what was going on. Now they were all sitting around watching Days of Our Lives together.  
  
"I don't know why she keeps forgiving him," Bosco sneered. "He's no good. She needs to listen to Marlena."  
  
"Yeah, well Bo and Hope aren't in that great of shape either," Littrell commented.  
  
Ty looked back and forth between the two who had obviously got hooked on this while they were in the hospital. He rolled his eyes, "God help me," he muttered under his breath as he got up and walked across the room.  
  
"Are you guys all set. I'm gonna grab a quick shower," Davis said over his shoulder.  
  
"Yeah, go ahead," Bosco said absently as he made a comment to Littrell about what was happening. Ty shook his head and grabbed a towel and some clean clothes and went into the bathroom.  
  
A few minutes later, during the commercial, Littrell got up and went to the kitchen. "You want something to drink?" he asked Bosco.  
  
"Yeah, I'll take some juice," he answered as the phone rang. Littrell was closest and picked it up.  
  
"Hello? Wait, slow down. Tell me where you are. Okay, I'm on my way. Call 9-1-1 and I'll... Tracy? Tracy?!" he yelled and then hung up the phone.  
  
"What's going on?" Bosco said, watching as Littrell grabbed a jacket and headed for the door. "Littrell, what's going on?"  
  
"Tracy's in trouble. He found her," he said before leaving and closing the door behind him.  
  
"Littrell!" Bosco called after him. He wheeled his wheelchair closer to the door and called out to Ty.  
  
"Davis! We got trouble," he yelled and heard the shower turn off. Ty came out with just a towel on and his gun in his hand.  
  
"What's up? Where's Littrell," he asked, looking around the room.  
  
"The phone rang. I think it was his sister. He said that he found her and she was in trouble. He wouldn't stop," Bosco explained as Ty went over and grabbed the phone.  
  
"Yeah, this is Officer Davis. I need to speak with Lieutenant Swersky right now," he said into the phone. A moment later, he was talking to the Lieutenant.  
  
After he'd explained the situation he answered the Lieutenant's numerous questions. "I don't know, Sir.... I was in the shower.... No Sir.... Bosco had his weapon while I was in the other room, Sir.... I know, Sir.... Yes, Sir...."  
  
"They're sending Faith and another unit over to the shelter and some units to her apartment. The Lieutenant's on his way over here and he's pretty pissed at me," Davis told Bosco.  
  
"It's not your fault. I don't think you'd have been able to stop him either. He let his emotions get the better of him," Bosco told his friend. "But, you might want to put some clothes on because if you're trying to make a fashion statement, that ain't the one to make," Bosco said as he looked at Ty still wearing only a towel and holding his weapon.  
  
Ty looked down at himself and then rushed into the bathroom to get his clothes. He called Alex and told her what had happened and not to come home tonight. He didn't want her walking in on anything in case something happened. She didn't like the idea, but said that Doc was looking for someone to cover the next shift for Simmons who called in sick. Ty hung up, knowing that Alex was safe for the night.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC... 


	20. Chapter 20

Returning the Favor  
  
Chapter 20  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"She's okay, Littrell," Faith told the paramedic upon his arrival at his sister's apartment. "The medics are just checking her over to make sure. The kids are at school."  
  
Littrell let out a sigh of relief. "Did you catch him?" he asked.  
  
"No, he heard your sister on the phone and took off, I guess," Faith told him as the Lieutenant came into the apartment.  
  
"Yokas, what happened?" asked the Lieutenant as he glanced at Littrell. "You should not have come over here. You should have called us right away," he said, pointing a finger at him.  
  
"I know, Sir. I realized after I left the apartment that I didn't tell them where I was going, but I just wanted to get to her. She sounded so scared," Littrell tried to explain.  
  
"Officer Yokas will give you a ride back to Davis' apartment. You are to stay put. This guy's got to know that you'll come running and he'll have an opportunity to take you out of the picture, so you need to stay out of sight. We'll get your sister and her kids to another shelter. We'll get this guy, Littrell. I promise," the Lieutenant finished, signaling for Faith to take Littrell back to Davis.  
  
"I want to see my sister first," Littrell said and the Lieutenant nodded.  
  
He walked into the bedroom where the medics were attending to her as she sat on the edge of the bed. He took in her appearance, noticing the torn clothing and the fresh bruise on her face. She looked up and saw him and fresh tears started to form. Alex turned and saw him and got up and walked over to him.  
  
"She's okay. Better than she could have been if Faith hadn't gotten here when she did," Alex told him.   
  
"Did he...?" he asked, not wanting to think of his sister being raped.  
  
"No. He tried, but Faith's siren scared him off according to your sister. She's just banged up a little and scared. She's worried about the kids coming home from school and seeing all the cops."  
  
"Can I talk to her?" he asked.  
  
"Sure. Kim," Alex called, intending to give them a little privacy. Kim got up and stepped out of the room with Alex as Littrell went over and embraced his sister.  
  
"How did he find you?" he asked his sister as she sat shaking from fear.  
  
"I don't know. Maybe when I called Lois, she told him. That's the only person I could think of. I just wanted to find out if he was still around. I thought that maybe if Lois hadn't seen him around the apartment, that maybe he took off because he'd shot you and that cop. He had to know the police would be looking for him for that," she said, trying to reason it in her mind. Suddenly, she sat up straighter. "Someone should check on Lois. Maybe he beat it out of her where I was. Please, Littrell, go check on Lois," she pleaded, referring to her next door neighbor.  
  
"Okay, I'll go check. Wait here. Let the medics take you in to get you checked over. You could have a fracture of your cheekbone. They're gonna take you to another shelter and this time you can't tell anyone - not until we find him. Understand?" he said, taking hold of both of her arms in an effort to get her full attention. "Understand?" he repeated again when he didn't get a response.  
  
"Okay, Littrell. Okay," she said in defeat. Littrell walked out of the room as Alex and Kim came back in. He walked over to Faith and the Lieutenant.  
  
"My sister said that she called her neighbor Lois to see if my brother-in-law had been around. She was trying to find out if he maybe took off from the City because of the shooting. Anyway, she's worried that he beat the information out of Lois. We need to check on her. She's the next door neighbor," Littrell explained and Faith and the Lieutenant rushed next door.  
  
Faith was banging on the door without getting a response. "Maybe she's not home," Littrell said.  
  
Faith shook her head. "The TV is on inside. Lieu?"   
  
"Kick it," the Lieutenant said to the other officer that they'd grabbed on their way over. The officer took a step back and raised his foot. He connected with the door just below the doorknob and the doorframe splintered and the door sprang open. The officer and Faith entered the apartment with their weapons drawn to do a primary search of the residence, leaving Littrell and the Lieutenant in the hallway.   
  
Faith looked around and noticed the disheveled appearance of the apartment. "Lois!?" she called out. "NYPD, are you in here?" No response. The two officers made their way through the apartment. The other officer was fairly new and Faith remembered wishing that Bosco were here. They worked so well together; they'd be able to the check the apartment in no time. Faith made her way down the hallway and found Lois in the back bedroom on the floor. The two officers finished checking the apartment to make sure it was clear before they went to check on the woman.  
  
"Clear!" she called back up the hallway to the Lieutenant. "We need EMS in here though," she advised. The Lieutenant and Littrell came down the hallway.  
  
Littrell bent down and felt for a pulse. There was none. He rolled her over and found a knife wound in her heart. "She'd dead," he said sadly. "He killed her after he beat the information out of her," he said, looking at the woman's wounds.  
*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Littrell, Faith and the Lieutenant were standing in the hallway as other officers tried to control the crowd of curious onlookers. "Okay, Yokas. Take him back to Davis' place and stay there for a while."  
  
"Yes, Sir. C'mon Littrell," Faith said as the two walked down the hallway.  
  
No one knew that in the vacant apartment across the hall, a man stood behind the door listening to where Littrell was going.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC... 


	21. Chapter 21

Returning the Favor  
  
Chapter 21  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Faith knocked on the door and Ty opened it to see Littrell standing behind Faith. They both walked in as Ty stepped aside.  
  
After he shut the door, Ty turned toward Faith. "What happened?"  
  
"Littrell got a call from his sister. She was at her apartment and her husband found her there. He roughed her up some. She's at Mercy getting checked out, then we're gonna move her to another shelter. This guy beat the neighbor and then stabbed her to death. He's wanted for murder now," Faith told him as Bosco listened. "Oh, and Alex said she'd be home regular time," she added as an afterthought.  
  
"Littrell, what were you thinkin'?" Ty asked him. "You should have told me and I would have sent units there and then we could have gone there - when help was there. You're lucky your sister's not dead."  
  
"I know, I know. The Lieutenant already reamed me out. I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. I just heard the terror in her voice and I took off," Littrell tried to explain, knowing that he couldn't.  
  
"Alright," Ty said, changing the subject. "So what's going on now?"  
  
"Well, Swersky told me to bring him back here. I gotta go to Mercy and pick up his sister and the kids and bring them to another shelter. After that, I guess we just have to wait until the detectives come up with something. But, we're all out looking for this guy too," she said, more for Littrell's benefit.  
  
Faith walked over to where Bosco was sitting. "So, what do you know?" he asked his partner.  
  
Faith shrugged her shoulders. "Just what I said. There's not much to go on. We got the guy's description out on the street and we've checked with everyone that we know of that knows him. This guy's either got a tight gang or he's solo out there, but he's good at staying lost," she said.  
  
"This is killing Littrell," Bosco said, looking over at his friend.  
  
"Yeah. I know. We're working hard on this, Bos. Littrell's one of our own and he shot you too and then killed that woman this afternoon. So, you need anything or are you all set?" Faith asked him.  
  
"Nah. I'm good. I actually walked some today. It felt good. That pain is gone from where that piece of bone was before. Maybe this jagoff did me a favor," Bosco commented.  
  
"Well, let's find him so we can reward him then," Faith said, turning to head out the door. She turned to Littrell, "Okay. Everybody sit tight and I'll let you know what's going on as soon as I can. You've got my cell, so call me if you need anything, boys."  
  
"Thanks, Faith," Littrell said as she left the apartment.   
*^*^*^*^*^**^  
  
Faith drove the police car away and from around the corner a person peered from the darkness. When he saw the police car was out of sight, he stepped from the shadows and looked up at the building that held his brother-in-law.  
  
"I'm not gonna get back with my woman until her brother's outta the picture," he said quietly to himself. He walked across the street to the bar and sat in a darkened corner that still had a view of the building across the street. He'd wait until he was certain they were asleep and then he'd make his move.  
  
What he didn't know was that the apartment held off duty police officers - armed off-duty police officers. Some of NYPD's finest.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC... 


	22. Chapter 22

Returning the Favor  
  
Chapter 22  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Okay. You stay put this time. Tell the kids I said hi and that this will all be over soon," Littrell said before hanging up the phone. He turned to walk back toward the couch where Ty sat. Bosco sat in a chair to the side of the couch. He'd been up and around a lot today and it felt pretty good. The therapy was helping and he felt himself getting stronger every day. He always had doubts about his ability to return to the streets with the last injury. Maybe something good would come out of this whole mess with Littrell's sister and Johnny Branson. At least he actually thought he had a shot at getting back out there with Faith since they'd taken that piece of bone out of his back.  
  
"Everyone all settled?" Bosco asked Littrell as he sat down and they watched the ball game on the television.  
  
"Yeah. I think so. I really can't thank you all enough for what you're doing," he said only to be told that it wasn't a problem. They were all family, and family was always there for family.  
  
"Just like when I got shot in that building. You guys were there for me. We're just returning the favor," Bosco told him, looking over at Ty who was agreeing with him.  
  
"Alright. Thanks," Littrell finally said. They watched television for a little while more. Alex came in a little after 11:30 and when the game was over, Bosco said, "Well, I think I've had enough for one day." He tried to move himself out of the chair and grimaced with pain.  
  
"You okay?" Alex asked him, standing up to help him up. Ty joined her.  
  
"Yeah. I think I just sat still for too long," he said as they got on either side and helped him up. He walked off toward the bedroom after thanking them and heard Alex chuckle behind him, joined by Ty and Littrell.  
  
"What is so funny?" he asked, turning around. He caught sight of himself in the mirror and realized that he was bent over and looked like he was about 80. He started to laugh too. "That's a pretty picture," he said as he turned and continued into the bedroom.  
  
"Hey. I'm gonna go for a run, if that's okay with you," Ty said to Bosco and Littrell. "I need to get rid of some energy after being couped up with you guys for the last couple of days."  
  
"Sure. No problem. I've got my gun. If it's okay with you, I'm gonna take the couch tonight instead of you guys. I changed the sheets on the bed earlier, Ty," Bosco told him.  
  
"You don't have to, Bos. We don't mind sleeping out here," Alex assured him.  
  
"Well, it's not only for you. I'm thinking that maybe the hardness of the couch will help my back a little. No offense, but you could use a new mattress," he said jokingly.  
  
"If you're sure," Alex said.  
  
"I'm sure. Let me just get some sweats and stuff out of there first. Have a good run, Ty," he said as he headed off to gather his things.  
  
"Alright. I'll be back in a bit," he said.  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Johnny Branson watched the young man come out the front door of the building and start doing some stretching against the front steps. He watched as he ran off. He waited until he saw him return from his run and enter the building. After a little while, he was sure that no one else was likely to be coming or going from the building. He watched from the street, even as a light rain fell, as the lights in the apartment were turned off, one by one. He waited a little while longer until the flashing light from the television in the front room had been off for about a half hour. He had been watching the windows and shrunk back from the light as he saw Littrell pull the shade in one of the bedrooms before turning out the light. Branson took in the sight of the fire escape leading up to Littrell's window and formed his plan of attack.  
  
"The sooner I get rid of him, the sooner I can get my kids back," he thought to himself. "Nobody takes my kids from me. Not that bitch and not her brother."  
  
Bosco had taken only one of his pain pills, just enough to take the edge off of his aching back. He set the timer on the television and watched the news until he fell asleep. The television shut off shortly after.  
  
Littrell lay awake for a while thinking about how close his sister had come to getting hurt tonight. And how stupid it was for him to take off like that without telling Bosco or Ty what was going on. He just wasn't thinking. He only heard the distress in his sister's voice and remembered the promise he'd made to his mother to watch after his younger sister as she lay in the hospital dying from cancer. Finally, he fell asleep.  
  
Alex and Ty were glad to finally have some quiet time alone. Alex had been exhausted from a busy shift, but not too tired to wait for Ty to return from his run and take his shower. They had made love behind closed doors and were now sleeping soundly in each other's arms.  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
Branson made his way slowly and quietly up the fire escape after stacking crates from the alley up to reach it. He didn't want to pull down the stairs because he didn't want to risk the noise waking someone up. He reached the landing outside of Littrell's window and reached in to take his knife out of his pocket. He'd thought about using his gun, but discarded that idea at the thought of waking up anyone else in the apartment.   
  
"No, this will be better. He'll never wake up and no one will find him until the morning. I'll be long gone by then," he said to himself with a smile. He looked at the window and saw that the latch was barely caught. He jiggled the window slightly and watched to make sure that he didn't wake up Littrell who he could see asleep in the bed across the room. Luckily, it was a warm night and Littrell obviously didn't notice any change in the temperature as he entered the room soundlessly.   
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^**^*  
  
Bosco opened his eyes at the feel of the breeze passing by his face. He felt that it was coming from the direction of Littrell's room and looked over to see that the window was opened slightly. He hadn't heard Littrell get up to open it, but figured the only reason he'd woken up was because he felt the breeze. He hated windows open while he was trying to sleep. It reminded him of when his father would sneak into his room through the window and then start smacking his mother around. He looked at the window for a moment, but decided not to get up and shut it. "Besides," he thought to himself. "I don't think I COULD get up and shut it," he finished, rubbing his back and pulling the covers up.  
  
He tried to go back to sleep and forget about it.  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Branson made his way quietly across the bedroom floor, stopping to listen for any sounds from the other rooms in the apartment. Hearing nothing, he continued on toward the bed where an unsuspecting Littrell lay sound asleep.  
  
He reached the bed and stopped to listen again, hearing only the sound of a few cars passing on the street below and the normal creakings of an old building. He readied his knife and reached down to put a hand over Littrell's mouth to prevent him from calling for help in the event that he woke up. He brought his leg up and shoved his knee into Littrell's side to hold him down.  
*^*^*^*^*^**^*^*^**^*  
  
Littrell's eyes flew open wide at the feel of Johnny Branson's hand over his mouth and nose. His eyes adjusted to the dim light and saw the glint of steel in Johnny's hand from the moonlight. He struggled and saw Johnny's arm raise to bring the knife down upon him.  
  
Littrell reached for something - anything - from the nightstand that he could hit him with or make noise with in order to wake up either Ty or Bosco, but he couldn't reach anything.  
  
He watched as Johnny's arm came down toward him - seemingly in slow motion. Just as he braced himself for the blade to enter his chest he saw a bright flash, followed by a loud bang. He saw the look of surprise on Johnny's face as he fell to the ground.  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Bosco tried to go back to sleep, but was unable to. He managed to get himself up off the couch and was going to go in and shut the window. He was sure Littrell wouldn't mind. He stood up and glanced toward the bedroom. The moonlight fell across the floor and that's when he saw it. There was a wet footprint just inside the window that shone in the moonlight. He reached down to the couch and pulled his off-duty gun from under the cushion.  
  
Slowly and quietly, Bosco walked toward the bedroom, careful to stay out of any light from the window. He finally reached the door despite the spasms in his back and saw Littrell struggling on the bed, reaching for something on the nightstand to fend off his attacker, who had his hand over Littrell's nose and mouth, his knee firmly planted into Littrell's stomach so that he couldn't get up.  
  
He raised his gun and was about to yell for the man to freeze when he saw his arm swing up. He saw the moonlight reflect off the metal of the blade of the large knife and watched as the knife came swinging back down toward Littrell's chest. He squeezed the trigger.  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Ty and Alex both heard the shot and Bosco's cry of pain as the recoil of the handgun was enough to jar his back and bring him to his knees.  
  
"Stay here!" Ty yelled to Alex as he grabbed his gun and ran out of the room. Alex grabbed the phone and dialed 9-1-1 to get the police and ambulance there and then grabbed the box of first aid supplies she always kept in case. She walked to the door and tried to listen to what was going on. She wanted to make sure that Ty was okay, but she didn't want to take his attention away from whatever was going on.  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
"Bosco!" Ty shouted from the middle of the darkened room, looking around the room trying to find him.  
  
"Over here, Ty," Bosco called to him. Littrell and Ty reached Bosco at the same time as Bosco kept his gun trained on the fallen man in the bedroom. Littrell flipped on the light as he held his side and looked over at his brother-in-law lying on the floor, a puddle of blood spreading under him.  
  
"Ty?!" he heard Alex call from the other room.   
  
"Yeah, Alex. It's okay. You can come out," Ty called to her as he and Littrell helped Bosco up off the floor and back to the chair. The sound of sirens filled the night as the police units arrived.  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^**^  
TBC... 


	23. Chapter 23 Epilogue

Returning the Favor  
  
Chapter 23 - Epilogue  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The ambulance had just left with the body of Johnny Branson. The detectives were finishing up their questioning and the lab techs were wrapping up the processing of the shooting scene.  
  
The Lieutenant was contacted at home as was Faith and Sully by Ty. They seemed to all arrive at the same time - just as Branson was being removed.  
  
"Hey, you guys all okay?" Faith asked as she came up alongside Bosco who was still sitting in the chair.  
  
"Yeah," Bosco said as he finished answering the questions from the detective about the shooting.  
  
"What happened?" the Lieutenant and Sully asked in unison.  
  
"Well, Bosco said he wanted to try sleeping on the couch tonight because the mattress was hurting his back. So, me and Alex were in there and Littrell was in that room," Ty explained, gesturing to each bedroom.  
  
Faith watched as Alex came out of the kitchen and placed a moist heat pack behind Bosco and he settled back against it. She then handed him another pain pill, but he refused. Faith smiled at her partner's stubbornness.  
  
"So, we were all asleep when we heard this gunshot and then Bosco called out," Ty continued. "I came out with my gun and found Bosco on the floor near Littrell's door. Littrell flipped on the bedroom light and that's when I saw Branson on the floor."  
  
"I woke up when I felt the breeze coming from Littrell's room," Bosco picked up from there. "I was gonna get up and shut the window, but I couldn't get up," he said, quickly glancing at Faith because he knew that she knew about the 'window thing'.   
  
"Anyway, I couldn't get back to sleep so after awhile I managed to get myself up off the couch and was about to go in and close the window. That's when I saw the wet footprint below the window. The moonlight reflected off the water. I grabbed my weapon and quietly walked over to the room. That's when I saw Branson standing over Littrell, holding him down. Littrell was trying to reach for something to hit him with or get someone's attention. I raised my gun to tell the guy to freeze. But before I could say anything, I saw his arm raise up and the glint of the steel blade of the knife. He brought his arm down toward Littrell's chest and I fired. The firing of the gun jarred my back and that's how I ended up on the floor," Bosco finished.  
  
"That's it?" the Lieutenant asked, looking at Ty, Littrell and Bosco.  
  
Bosco nodded, "Pretty much, Lieu." Littrell stood there rubbing his side, still sore from his healing gunshot wound, compounded by Branson's knee pressing on him.  
  
"Okay. You two go get checked out. You're gonna need to come in tomorrow to make some formal statements, but I don't see any problems. IAB'll wanna look into it, but it sounds like a clean shoot to me," the Lieutenant said as the ambulance arrived to take Littrell and Bosco into the hospital.  
  
"Aw, Lieu. I've ridden in enough of those. Can't we just have Faith give us a ride over?" Bosco asked, looking at his partner.  
  
"No problem, Lieu. I've got enough room in my car," Faith agreed.  
  
"Okay. But, make sure you get checked out and bring the paperwork in for the files at work," the Lieutenant said.  
  
"Yes, Sir," Bosco replied.  
  
"I've gotta call my sister first," Littrell said, walking over to the phone.  
  
"She's already on her way over to the hospital to meet up with you. I told her you're fine, that it's just a precaution. I'll let YOU tell her that she can go back home now," the Lieutenant said with a smile.  
  
"Thanks, Sir," Littrell said, shaking the man's hand. "Thanks to all of you," he added looking around at his friends.  
  
"Alright. Move out everyone," the Lieutenant said.  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Littrell was checked out and discharged. He said goodnight to Bosco and Faith and went with his sister and the kids to get them settled back into their apartment.   
  
"Well, that was some night you had," Faith said to her partner as he tried to re-position himself on the uncomfortable ER bed with a grimace.  
  
"Man, I hate this place," he said as the doctor came.  
  
"Then get the hell out," the doctor joked, hearing his comment.  
  
"I can leave?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah, we need the bed for someone who really needs it. I checked over your x-rays - you should glow by now with the amount of films you've had done - and everything looks great. As a matter of fact, the films look better than the last set. I wouldn't be surprised if after a couple more weeks, you were back out on the streets, Officer," the doctor reported.  
  
"Great news, Doc," Bosco replied with a smile.  
  
"Okay, let's get you back to your place so you can get comfortable," Faith said, grabbing onto Bosco's hand and arm to help him sit up.  
  
"That's the best thing I've heard in a few weeks," he said standing up.  
  
"The desk will have your discharge papers. So, I'll see you in a couple of weeks?" the doctor replied.  
  
"What? Why?" Bosco asked, puzzled.  
  
"Well, you'll be back to work, right?" the doctor said.  
  
"Yeah," Bosco said, still confused.  
  
"I give it a week before you're in here for some other injury or hang nail. Face it, Officer Boscorelli. You like us, you really like us," the doctor joked.   
  
Bosco and Faith were still chuckling as they left to sign out.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The End. 


End file.
